Silver Treasures
by Ugly Kitten
Summary: Kurama is in college in the US, in search of a team for Koemna. Kansas offers 3 freshies: JD, someone Ku can barely understand. Jun, sexy and cunning. And Criss. There's a problem, tho. She's the cause.
1. Default Chapter

I can work on several stories at once, you know. This one is nearing completion already, so I decided to upload the first chapter.

To my readers from Heal Me, this one's a little bit different. Criss is another character I'm "trying out" here.

Full Summary:

Kurama and the gang are all eighteen and they've graduated from high school at last. Since Sensui, there haven't been any bigger problems to come along. (Mostly cause I haven't seen after Sensui.) Kurama wants to do foreign exchange in the U.S. Koenma agrees to let him, but only if he finds a new Spirit Detective there to help with the suddenly-exploding demon population in middle-of-nowhere Kansas.

Our dear Kurama does indeed find some powerful people in Kansas. One is Jason Dogg, a boy from New York who Kurama has a little trouble understanding sometimes. Another is the sexy, spicy Princess Juniper Gonzalez, or just Jun. And then there's Criss Nallen, who is just a touch stronger than Jun. There's a problem with Criss, though. She's the reason that the demons are coming out of the woodwork.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Treasure Island. I do own Jun, Criss, and JD, though why I'd want to own Jun is a mystery to me.

Silver Treasures

Chapter 1: College Bound

Minamino Shuichi, or Youko Kurama to his friends, stood in the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport at approximately three o'clock in the morning. The sleepy atmosphere of the usually bustling terminals was almost unnerving. He found his things on an old turnstile baggage claim and walked toward the front of the airport. His letter had claimed that there would be someone to meet him there.

When Kurama asked for a year away from Japan to study in America, Koenma had been, admittedly, furious. With the promise to find another human (hopefully not with demon blood) like Yusuke to become an American Spirit Detective, however, Kurama had managed to get the little junior god to let him go.

Kurama could still hear the planes outside taking off. There were children in some of the terminals who were wide awake. For the most part, however, most of the people were asleep or silent. There were few bright colors around the gray-painted lobby, other than an enormous painting of an orange, an oriental teapot, and a coffee maker.

So the enormous vertical banner containing his human name in perfect, bright red kanji was hardly to be missed. Kurama walked over to the peppy-looking college student who was holding the sign. A blush had colored his cheeks, of course.

"Are you Minamino Shuichi?" asked the girl in perfect, though slow, Japanese. A small smile appeared on her mouth as she let the banner down again. Her nose twitched a bit, like a rabbit's. Short, honey brown, hair nearly hid her eyes and ears. She was slightly pudgy and about half a foot shorter than himself.

"Yes," Kurama answered in English. "You don't have to speak Japanese."

"You just had to go and say that, didn't you?" she accused with a sigh. "Sorry, where are my manners, I'm Criss. Criss Nallen. I'd suggest getting used to Shuichi, Jefferson is known for its informality."

Kurama nodded. "Point taken. Thank you for going out of your way to pick me up."

Criss shook her head. "I'm awake, I know Japanese, and I'm the one who convinced the ninnies up at the college to let you in. Least I could do. Need some help with those bags?"

"No, no, I'm fine," Kurama said. He followed her out into the parking lot. Even at three in the morning, the air was thick with humidity and heat. He could smell manure and hay for miles around, along with some car congestion.

"I'm curious. Why'd you choose a little two year college like Jefferson? Most of the people there come from agrarian—that's farming—families. I'm one of few who came from a big city."

"I received a full ride scholarship," Kurama answered calmly, "to either Jefferson College or Bethel. I let my friends choose which one, from what information I gave them. They said I might 'fit in' better at Jefferson."

"Ah. Same here. Full rides to all the colleges I applied to, all of them small, two-years. Jefferson was the closest."

"Then we both chose this college by chance," Kurama mused. Criss stopped next to a very old, pale blue car and unlocked the trunk. Inside was a misshapen, stained carpet and several books of all different types. None were textbooks. Several were graphic novels, of which, Kurama was only familiar with two of the series. One of them caught his eye, however. A book that read _Demon Diary_.

"I figured you'd want to look at my manga collection," Criss smirked. She grabbed his suitcases and book bag, placing them gently into the trunk. On top of all the manga. "I like that one best. It's Korean, that might be why you don't recognize it."

Kurama tried to hand the book back to her, but she pushed it back into his hands.

"Read it on the way. It's thirty miles to the college, and I'll need the silence to concentrate, anyway. Lot of critters on the road during the summer."

"Critters?" Kurama asked, sliding into the passenger seat after she unlocked the door.

"Yes. I like animals, and I'm not about to run any over."

Kurama nodded. He understood a little why that would be. He liked animals, too, though not as much as he liked plants.

"What are you majoring in?" Criss asked as she backed out.

"Botany and Art. Double Major."

"Me, too. Well, doubling, anyway. Biology and Art. Okay, no more talking, please."

Kurama settled into the patched, worn seat. The seatbelt appeared new. The little car seemed to be a mottled thing, a Frankenstein. Kurama could hear that the motor definitely wasn't the original, and the stereo, which was playing M.C. Hammer softly, was brand new as well.

The road was almost pitch black, but inside the little car was enough light to read by. Kurama read through the first part of _Demon Diary_, trying not to laugh too loud. Raenef and Eclipse were a hilarious duo, and already he could tell it was yaoi. He wasn't too keen on the subject, but where comic media is concerned, anything goes.

Just as he was finished the second manga short at the back of the book, Criss announced that they'd arrived. Kurama closed _Demon Diary _and climbed out. From what little Kurama could see of the campus, it was large, spanning several hundred acres. However, it was still dark, around three thirty, and all that lit it up were globe-shaped, eerie yellow light posts.

"Wait till you see it during the day," Criss said. She smiled that little smile again, looking off in the distance. "It's beautiful. Great place to live, Jefferson. I almost never want to leave. I've only been here a week, and I already feel that way."

Kurama turned his head a little sharp, hurting his neck. "You're a freshman? How have you been here a week already?"

"Extenuating circumstances," was her cryptic answer. "I grew up here as a kid. Dad was a prof here. Got a better job at Virginia State. I came back here for college."

"Wait a minute," Kurama reasoned. "You said you lived near here and came by chance."

"I did. Just didn't realize it," she said. "I have a few memory problems, you see. Don't be shocked if tomorrow morning, I don't remember your name."

Slowly, Kurama nodded. Criss handed him one of his suitcases and his book bag, taking two cases for herself. Kurama handed her back _Demon Diary_, which she set inside the trunk. She kicked it closed and led the way onto a sidewalk.

"You're in 2SE, in the dorm right underneath mine in 3SE, funny enough," Criss said. "There's a hole in the floor between the two from last year, that's how I know. I put a board and a rug over it, but I don't know what I'm going to do when my roomie gets here."

"Are we the only two there for now?" Kurama asked.

"Us and the girl whose got the room by me. Her dad's a prof, so she's got a single room. One without a roomie, in other words. Sammy's her name. Chemistry major."

Kurama nodded.

"So…Shuichi, you said it was your friends who got you to come here?" He nodded. "I want to know more about these friends of yours. Did you go to the same high school?"

"No, we didn't, unfortunately. We met through work."

"Ah, the lovely work environment. Such a pleasant place when you've got the right boss. So not when you don't."

Kurama chuckled. "True. There were four of us. Hiei, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and I."

"Kuwabara…isn't that a surname?"

"Yes. He disliked us using his given name…I believe it was Kazuma."

"You have many fond memories of them…right?" Kurama was a little confused by her tone. It was sad, distant, and a little jealous. "I wish…never mind."

Kurama didn't speak for a moment, as they reached a glass door. Criss pulled out a key and unlocked the door. They climbed two flights of stairs and Criss pulled him into a hallway. Just beyond the hall was a room full of chairs, a TV, and four other halls. The other halls contained four doors and a communal bathroom between them on the left and right.

"You're in the first left hallway in the first right hand door," Criss said, handing him a key. "Remember that, it's a little confusing at first." She led the way into said room, which contained a bunk bed, two dressers, two desks, and an entire wall dedicated to one huge, deep closet.

"Since you got here first, you get dibs on which bed, dresser, and desk you want. Battle it out with your roomie when they get here where it all goes. Half of the closet is yours, where the red tape is. I'll see you in the morning, Shuichi. Good night."

"Good night," Kurama said.

After she'd left, he glanced up at the ceiling. Indeed, there was a hole with a large board covering the upper part of it. He could see the beams inside his side of the ceiling. The hole was large enough for someone twice his size to get through. Who in their right mind would make a hole that large?

Kurama shrugged it off, made the bottom bunk of the bed, and fell into a dreamless slumber.

So…What do you think of Criss?


	2. Roomies

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Haksho. I _wish_ I didn't own Jun. I also don't own "**Gold Digger**", which is the song that inspired this fic and Jun's character.

This thing started off that Kurama was going to get seduced by Jun and then almost killed…but something else got in the way. Say, love?

Chapter 2: Roomies

Kurama awoke the next morning after a strange series of dreams about some girl in a gold mine. One minute, he was helping her oversee the workers. The next, he _was_ one of the workers. He threw the pick into the rock and handed over several pieces of gold to the girl. Her face was shadowed, so he hadn't a clue who she was.

With a sigh, he slid out of the lower bunk. He brushed his red hair, now reaching down to his waist, and threw on a pair of jeans. It really seemed weird to him that he was allowed to wear his shoes in the building. Just the differing culture, he supposed. Culture shock was not a new thing to him, but it always held surprises.

He pulled a plain white t-shirt over his head and, just as he was just about to walk out the door, a loud knocking came from the ceiling. Kurama glanced up at the hole. He'd nearly forgotten it.

"Yo, Shuichi, you awake!" Came Criss's loud yell through the ceiling.

"Yes."

"You're decent, right?"

"Er…yes."

The board in the ceiling slid off and Criss's honey brown hair descended into the room, followed by her head. "Just wanted to know if you wanted to go with me to help greet our roomies. I'm doing the welcome in the chapel, but you can help if you want."

Kurama was still a little in shock from seeing her head upside down, coming from the hole in the ceiling. It was really the first time he got a good look at her face. Her eyes were large and bluish green and although she herself was pudgy, her face seemed only baby-fat-ish. Today, she was wearing a cat collar around her throat and a black t-shirt that said, "Bite Me" in large, silver letters.

"Um…no, that's all right, I'll just sit with the rest of the students…"

"Okay, suit yourself. Hey, this is actually kinda handy. Just so long as we remember to knock first and all."

He chuckled and nodded in agreement. "I will inform my roommate as such."

"Ooh, big words," Criss smirked. "Where'd you learn such good English?"

"Practice," Kurama said. He wasn't about to say that he'd lived in America about two hundred years ago. That would be a bad idea.

"All I can say is major kudos to you. I'm still in the super-simple hello-how-are-you-I-am-fine stage in Japanese. As you probably noticed."

"Ano…Are you going to hang upside down all day?"

"Oh! C'mon, we gotta get to the chapel!"

Criss's head vanished and was replaced by her feet. She dropped from the ceiling into Kurama's room and dashed out onto the stairs. Kurama wasn't very far behind. He didn't know where the chapel was yet. Criss's enthusiasm amused him, though he tried not to show it on his face. He succeeded well in that endeavor, as always.

The campus during the day was much different from the night. Kurama could see that all of the trees had been meticulously planted and trimmed, the grass was green and short, and the sidewalks were wide and immaculately clean. All of the buildings were made of brick, though some were obviously older than others. The administrations building looked to be the oldest, from what Kurama could see.

"I'll give you and your roomie and mine a good tour after the welcome," Criss said. "I know this campus can get confusing if you don't know where you're going. Sometimes, I forget where I'm going, too."

"Yes, I agree. It does seem rather confusing."

They came to a halt outside of a church-like building beside a wide parking lot. There were several cherry trees around it, beginning to make cherries at last for the dawning fall. A large bell at the top of the building was sounding loudly.

"This is the chapel," Criss said. "Obviously enough. You get a seat, I've gotta go around to the back."

Kurama entered the building alone and sat about three pews away from the one-step platform that was the stage. The chapel was a quaint little building with a high ceiling for good acoustics and several dozen old wooden pews. The first ten or so on each side of a wide aisle had threadbare red cushions. Kurama sat on it and decided that it probably was best that he had it.

"Well, well, look what the wolf brought in," said a purring voice that was music to Kurama's ears. He looked up and saw a beautiful girl with waist-length, curly black hair and gorgeous blue eyes. Her skin was a silky copper. She was a little shorter than him, but not by much. She smiled at him, revealing straight white teeth. "Who might you be, hmm?"

"Ku—I mean, Shuichi. Shuichi Minamino."

_Smooth move, Shuichi_, Youko rolled his eyes inwardly.

"Ooh, what is that, Italian?"

_Not very bright, this one,_ Youko said.

Kurama tried not to laugh. **That's not very nice, Youko. **"No, it's Japanese. I'm from Tokyo."

_Whoever said I'm nice?_

**No one did. Say, where were you this morning?**

Asleep. Ningen are so stupid, putting us on a plane at midnight… 

The girl smiled wider, completely unaware of the two 'personalities' in Kurama's head bantering on about her.

"You'll have to tell me about it later. I'm Princess Juniper Gonzalez. You may call me Jun, if you like." Her melodious voice graced him with a laugh. "Oh, someone get that off the stage. Ugh. What an eyesore."

Kurama glanced up on the stage. The only person there was Criss. He was a little stung by Jun's words, but he shrugged it off. Criss knew how to take care of herself, she'd already proven that to him. Besides, Jun must have meant it as a joke. She _was_ laughing… Kurama liked hearing her laugh.

Yeah, me too…When are we going to seduce her? 

**Youko!**

What? 

"Hello, everybody," Criss said. "I'm one of the few freshman on campus that was able to be here before anyone else, so I've got a pretty good idea what it's like to live here already. At least, without a mod, without a roomie, and without the rest of ya'll!

"So, I'd just like to welcome you to Jefferson College. If you will come up here when I call your name, Ms. Stephings will give you your dorm, room number, and key. Be sure you get to know your roomies a little tonight!"

Criss started calling names. Slowly, people trickled up to the front, where an elderly woman with a shock of thick white hair gave them a sheet of paper with a key taped to it. Jun went up before Kurama. She blew a kiss back to him before strolling up to the front for her key. Nearly every male present stared after her.

Including Kurama.

_I saw that, Shuichi. You want her._

**We are not going to do that.**

At long last, everyone was gone. Ms. Stephings approached him.

"I saw that," she said, chuckling knowingly. "Quite a catch there, Mr. Minamino. Think you can handle her?"

Kurama blushed at the reference. Criss smirked.

"Ah, is the foxy boy trapped in the hunter's trap?"

The connotative meaning behind that sentence upset both Youko and Shuichi, though Criss didn't seem to realize anything. Stephings and she high-fived each other as Kurama slipped out of the room. He headed straight for his dorm room, where he hoped to meet his new roomie. He entered the room to see a boy with smooth, dark skin, tightly braided shoulder length hair, and a grin that could stretch from here to Hong Kong, China.

"Hey, man, what's happenin'?" said the boy. "You Shuichi, right? I'm Jason Dogg, but you can call me JD. I saw your little action goin' down in da sanctuary. Pretty hot stuff, huh?"

Is he speaking some foreign language? 

Kurama barely understood half of what he said. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that, in English? I'm from Japan, you see, and I'm still not quite understanding some vernacular dialects…"

"Yeah, sure, dude. Sorry about that. Yo, listen, that girl that was up on the stage, though? She was da bomb, man. Cute chick, with a little bit of fire n' ice of her own, ya know?"

Kurama smiled. "Yes, she lives in the room above us. There's a hole in the ceiling. She said we won't say anything to maintenance about it as long as we both knock before we move the board she placed over it."

"Cool, cool. Hey, you left me the top bunk! I like you, man, you're cool. Hey, listen, here's what we can do with the furniture…"

JD and Kurama spent most of the rest of the afternoon moving the beds, dressers, and desks around the room until they finally got it the way they wanted it. The beds were up against the back wall, though far enough away for the closet doors to swing open freely. Kurama's dresser was right beside the bed, while JD's was across from it on the other wall. The two desks formed a sort of right angle to the door so that they could use the back of them as cork boards.

At about two in the afternoon, when Kurama and JD were helping each other unpack and "decorate", a knock came from the board overhead.

"You can move it, Criss," Kurama called. The board moved and Criss's head came through it again. "Who's you're roommate?"

"Princess Juniper, aka Jun," Criss said. She looked at JD and smirked. "Oh, this is going to be fun. How's it going, you?"

"A'ight," JD answered. "I'm Jason Dogg, but you can call me JD. You are?"

"Criss Nallen. Call me Criss. My roomie ran off after she threw her stuff on the top bunk. She came back with electrical tape and divided the room with it. She says I'm in charge of the stuff nearer the door. Pretty organized, except one thing."

"What's that?" Kurama asked.

"The tape is in the far right hand side of the room, behind the bunk beds. There's nothing on the other side."

JD burst into riotous laughter. "Aww, come on, she can't be serious!"

"Does it look like I'm laughing? I'm gonna ask for a roomie switch…This is ridiculous."

"Give it time first," Kurama said. "Maybe it will work out."

Criss sighed. "All right, if you say so. I'll give her a month. If nothing changes, I'm switching roomies. So, got your class schedule yet? It should be coming in the shoots."

"The what?" Kurama blinked.

"Shoots. Those tubes beside your closet. They're mail tubes. That's how you get your mail and stuff, unless it's too big to fit. Should be in there."

Sure enough, right beside the closet were a pair of glass tubes. Inside of which was a plastic capsule each, both containing a single sheet of paper.

"Just send 'em back if they're empty, there's a button on the side."

JD and Kurama retrieved the papers.

"I don't think we'd be able to do anything without you, baby," JD said, pouring over his list. "I've got…Environmental Biology, Cultural Anthropology, Honors College Writing, Introduction to Education…and a buncha others. Jeez, seven classes."

"I got eight, count yourself lucky. Though, I don't have a four-credit class this semester. I'm not taking E. Bio until next semester. I've got Intro to Bio this semester. Need it. What're you majoring in?"

"Education."

"Ah…like high school?"

"Yeah. English. I want to teach high school English."

"That's cool. I'm looking into something with art and biology."

Kurama saw them both looking at him. "Botany and art."

"Botany?" JD cocked a brow at him. "Flowers and junk?"

"Flowers are only a part of a plant," Kurama said. "There are many others. I want to study exotic plants. The Corpse flower is a very interesting part of what I want to study."

"Corpse flower? I saw one of those on the Internet. Watched it bloom. It only does that like, once in every eight or ten years and it stays that way a max of forty-eight hours. I wish I could have smelled it. Terrible smelling things, Corpse flowers. Well, I gotta jam. See ya, boys!"

She vanished through the hole and replaced the board. They heard a strange scraping noise before it was silent again. Every once in a while, they'd hear her footfalls.

Criss Nallen carefully covered the hole with the board, followed by a heavy red rug. It seemed to be something she and Jun shared in common. A love of the color red. She just hoped that was enough to make Jun leave the rug alone. For some reason, she didn't think it was right for Jun to stick her head into Kurama's room. She got the feeling that Jun would seduce Kurama if she had the chance. Jun seemed to her to be a gold digger. The kind of woman who sees something precious, snaps it up, spends it, and throws it away.

She didn't want Kurama to be hurt because he was used and thrown away.

Jun returned a few moments after she covered the hole and her eyes lit up at the sight of the carpet.

"Ooh, what a pretty color. It looks great there. Are you sure you're not majoring in interior design? This room is great." Jun swayed over onto a couch that Criss had found somewhere, also red. "So, tell me something about yourself. I mean, you are, like, my roomie and all."

"Sure…I guess." Criss sat next to the girl, feeling a little weird. "I'm an artist. I've got a small problem with remembering stuff..."

"Like, what kind of things?"

"Usually little things, like names or what I had to eat for breakfast…But sometimes, I forget entire spans of time. Sometimes a few hours or minutes, others a whole year. I just don't recall anything."

"That's terrible! I mean, I could think of a few things I'd rather forget, like half the guys I've slept with, but to forget stuff you don't want to?"

_Half the guys she's slept with? _Criss thought. _What's that supposed to mean?_

"Yeah…but, I'm cool with it. I'm good. So, what about you? What's your major, anyway?"

"Fashion," Jun said. "I design clothes and stuff. I need to learn how to draw before I can go back home, though… It's tough. I still model on the side, for cash and stuff."

"I believe that, you're gorgeous," Criss said. "I'd never be able to do that kind of thing. I am terrified of cameras."

"That's too bad, it's good money. What _are _you majoring in anyway?"

"Double major. Biology and art. I want to draw animals."

"For mags and stuff? Get out, that's so cool!"

"It is?"

"Yeah, I mean, come on. Animals are just as cool as people are. What're your favorites?"

"Well…I like wolves and tigers and foxes, but my favorite by far is the Arctic Fox. They're completely white, like the snow. Beautiful creatures…"

"I think we're going to be good friends, Criss. I was so wrong about you."

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it."

Hmm…I thought a lot about Jun's character, almost as much as I did Criss's. JD was also a bit…odd. Jason Dogg. I got the idea from Snoop Dogg and Jason, a guy I had a crush on when I was in high school. No one ever figured that one out. They all thought I had a crush on my English teacher…Ri-i-ight. I'll let them think anything they want if it keeps them from guessing the truth.

Thing is, Jason committed suicide shortly after graduation. I have very, very, very bad experience with suicide.

Sillylittlenothing: Of course there's gonna be fun. There always is, with me. I'm almost done with this one, and I'm halfway done with the sequel to HMIH. Then, I've got ANOTHER fic halfway done called "Roadside". Aren't I preciously evil?


	3. Midnight Meetings

Chapter 3: Moonlight Meetings

Kurama waited until he heard JD's breathing even out. The night was cool, the air crisp and humid. He could smell rain on the horizon. Youko was asleep in his mind, and he wished he was with him in the bottom bunk. However, Kurama had a job to do. As much as he hated ulterior motives, here he was.

He made his way up onto the roof of the dorms, where there were several oddly shaped plastic chairs scattered about. A rusty railing made it difficult for anyone to fall off the building. He leaned against a small corner, facing toward the long road so that no one would see what he was doing at first.

"Koenma, Kurama here," he said. The cell-phone-like communications device linked him directly to the junior god and his friends back in Japan. "I've located three good candidates already."

"Good job, Kurama. What are their names, I'll have the blue ogre do a background check on them."

"Criss Nallen, Jason Dogg, and Princess Juniper Gonzalez. Jason is the strongest of the three, but not by much."

"What would you rank them on the demon class scale?"

"Upper D Class for the two girls. Jason is in the lower C Class."

"Very powerful for normal humans… I wonder if they know they are psychic?"

"Jason does, sir," Kurama said. "He's been training with a man in New York City. I let slip that I, too, have been training. He knows who Genkai is. I trust him."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Kurama."

"Shuichi? Is that you?" Kurama turned around. It was Criss. "What're you doing up here this late at night?"

"I could as you the same thing." He whispered into the phone: "Koemna, I've got to go."

He shut the casing on the cell-phone-like device and turned back to Criss. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to call my mother."

.Smooth lie, Shuichi. Didn't I teach you that one?. 

**..Shut up, Youko..**

_.Bite me._

"It's nice to keep in contact," Criss smiled. Kurama noticed that it looked a little forced and fake. Most of her smiles looked like this one. But this was a little different. She seemed almost sad.

"Yes, it is," he said. "Why are you awake?"

"I'm a night person," she shrugged. "Never been able to sleep much. It's the critter in me, I suppose. Plus, the moon is full. I never sleep on the full moon. Just can't."

Kurama glanced up into the night sky, where the heavy, solid moon shimmered bright. The whole campus lay below, bathed in the white light. Kurama recognized the main lecture hall and the chapel.

"The moon is beautiful tonight," Kurama agreed.

"Yeah…ain't she, though? I love the full moon. I'm weird. I go up on the roof every time there's a full moon… That's one of the few memories I keep from when I lived here."

_.She sounds like a wolf demon._

**..I don't think she is. I think she's merely human. She would be smart enough to mask her energy if she were aware of it..  
**

_.She doesn't remember things. She's nocturnal. She likes the moon. All she needs to do is start howling and running, and we've got ourselves a wolf demon.. _

**..Don't do this, Youko. She's human. She doesn't smell anything otherwise..  
**

Criss was completely unaware of this entire conversation. In fact, she seemed to have altogether forgotten that Shuichi was there. She just continued to gaze up at the moon, her eyes reflecting the enormous white orb. It looked a little strange, her eyes almost completely white.

For a moment, Kurama didn't know what to do. If he stayed up here much longer, he wouldn't get any sleep at all. If he left her…He wasn't sure he could handle Koenma's wrath if anything happened to one of his candidates.

Without thinking, Kurama placed his hand on her shoulder. "Will you be all right up here by yourself?"

"Yeah, of course," she said. "Not like anything's out to get me."

Kurama smiled politely and headed downstairs.

_.Yeah, but if this little plan of yours goes through, Shuichi, she **will **have things after her._

..I realize that. I will have to break this to the three of them a little more slowly than Yusuke started out..

_.They didn't get run over by a car and meet the Grim Reaper, so, duh!._

**..Youko, I didn't even know you knew that word!..**

_.JD's rubbing off on me. I like the boy._

..Don't get any funny ideas. You're always like this during mating season..

_.What sort of ideas did you mean? The type where we throw him on the bed and—._

..La la la, I'm not listening!..

Sorry if Youko comes off a little strong on the "sexual" meter. I know the show does not reveal much more than passing kitsune "interests" and "curiosities". My defense? Kurama is in _heat_. He is actually putting up a good fight, I think. That will change in future chapters.

I know Jun is shallow, because, well, that's the kind of person she is. You know those kind of girls pretty well. Airheads with no more idea of morals than their pretty heads can stand. I've met quite a few of them in my day and they spawned the hideous creation of Jun. There's a little more to her than meets-the-eye, but not much. I made it so that you'd purposely find a reason not to like her, but she still has some redeeming qualities. I mean, she is in college and she does actually work for her living, right?

Reason Youko likes Jun: He's a man and he's in heat. Jun is the perfect physical specimen for beauty around. I mean, jaw-droppin' gorgeous. The only setback is that she's, well…read on.

And to my wonderful reviewer who spawned these answers, I would like to thank you. You were brave enough to give me a good, solid reason for why you were hesitant to like my story and I respect you fully for doing it. You're right. Jun _is_ the last girl Kurama would actually fall in love with. But fall in lust with? I dunno, that is where opinions curve, in my opinion.

Sorry if I come off a little strong on this point, I think all men are infected to some degree with lust. Must be why the only guys I've been asked out by are the desperate and the players. Or they've been set up to ask me out by their mothers. **shudders at bad memories** It's mostly my history with men that makes me react to them like this. Sorry if it come off in my stories too much.

One more thing: Youko is actually wrong about her being demon. Just wanted to point that out, because a lot of people push the back button when they see another demon or part demon.


	4. Class One

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH. JD and Criss are mine, as is, unfortunately, Jun.

Chapter 3: Class One

…

…

…

_Kurama walked along the edge of the creek that ran away from Jefferson College. It was so peaceful here. The birds twittered in the trees, the creek swished along at his feet. He could hear a needle drop inside one of the houses he walked past. _

"_Nice day, isn't it?" Kurama stopped and turned around. Before him stood a demon, a female komori demon by the looks of her. Her hips swayed to the music of the birds as she approached him. "It's been a long time, Youko Kurama. I miss you. Why did you leave America, hmm?"_

_Slowly, the demon's identity dawned on Kurama. She had been one of his acquaintances during his stay in America, specifically, in Philadelphia. Her name was Sparkle, and she was often called the "Gold Digger". She looked for pretty things, snatched them up, and tossed them away when they were done._

"_I had to return to Japan. Kuronue needed my help. We robbed Spirit World."  
_

_She smiled at him, that deadly, dangerous smile that he knew so well. "So I've heard. That didn't turn out so good, did it, my little fox imp?"_

"_N-No…it didn't," Kurama whispered. He couldn't resist her, it was part of her natural charm that no man could resist. Her lips claimed his, in all the fire and passion he remembered of the komori. He felt his throat being robbed of its tastes, felt her fingers pressing into his skull. Her hips against his. _

"_So, what say you and me—BEEP BEEP BEEP…"_

BEEP BEEP BEEP—

Kurama shut his alarm clock off with a growl. He couldn't tell whether he'd just had a very pleasant dream or a freaky nightmare. The Gold Digger was notorious for snatching men like him, seducing them, and tossing them dead by an abandoned highway. He knew that being in America again would bring up memories, but why that girl?

"Yo, what the hell are you doin' just sittin' there?" JD danced into the room to the beat of some hip hop song that Kurama had no clue about. Something about writing murder, he thought. "We only got ten minutes for breakfast if you want it, man."

Kurama nodded and stood to his feet. He pulled on a pair of clean blue jeans over his boxers and a white t-shirt over his A-shirt. He grabbed his back pack and his books for the first class, which started at eight o'clock. It was now seven twenty.

"Why do we only have ten minutes for breakfast?" Kurama asked.

"We've got ten minutes to get it," JD answered. "Criss told me. She was here a while ago. They stop serving breakfast at seven thirty, but you can stay in the cafeteria to eat it as long as you want. All the cooks are second years, see."

Kurama really didn't understand what the cooks being second years would have to do with them serving breakfast only until seven thirty. Still, he stepped into his tennis shoes and followed JD out the door.

Jefferson's cafeteria was actually a fairly nice place. There were circular tables next to huge windows, and the food was served off of buffet-style carts. Kurama could have as much as he wanted. The drinks bar had so many different types of drinks, ranging from coffee to juice to pop to milk. Even some exotic drinks from places like Java, Indonesia, which was where half of the other international students were from.

JD piled his plate high with pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, a bowl of Rice Crispies drenched in milk, and three glasses, containing orange juice, peach tea, and Pepsi with a hint of lime. Kurama was a little shocked to see so many selections, and opted for a little of everything, including a bright red apple that still had a leaf attached.

The two boys found Criss sitting alone at the farthest table in the back. Since Jun was nowhere in sight and Kurama knew no one else, he sat at her table with JD.

"Good morning," she said brightly. "Sorry that my roomie's not here, she doesn't have class until ten. She said to let her sleep."

"Lucky girl," JD said. "My first class is eight o'clock." Kurama and Criss both made noises of agreement.

"What do you have?" Criss asked.

"Honors Writing." Kurama and JD echoed at once. They looked at each other, a little shocked.

"Hey, me, too," Criss smirked. "We can suffer together!" She glanced at Kurama, a little surprised herself. "Say, Shuichi, you know _that_ much English? I barely got in that class!"

"I made a twenty-seven on the ACT in English," Kurama said.

_Great one, Shuichi, she's already suspicious._

It's not my fault they put me in that class instead of the ordinary writing class.

_True. Don't forget that she's a C level already. She's almost as strong as JD is. Why didn't you tell that to Koenma?_

She seems weaker, somehow.

_I'm sure she'd really appreciate that, Shuichi._

"Well, are you guys ready to go?" Criss broke him from his thoughts. As she stood, Kurama noticed that she had some sort of black thing around her wrist. It had silver marks on it, and when she stopped moving, he realized that they were skulls. Her entire attire was darker than what they'd been the day before. She wore black and silver. Her t-shirt read, "Shoot First, Ask Questions Later."

It all seemed to clash so harshly with her slightly tan skin and honey-brown hair. Her slight pudge showed a little more when she wore tighter clothes, but it made her seem a lot more skinny, too. It was a strange combination. He noticed that she also had a slight gap between her two front teeth when she smiled over her shoulder at them.

Criss walked away with her tray, and JD and Kurama gathered their trays and trash. Criss waited patiently by the door. JD smirked.

"I saw that, Shuichi Minamino. You were checking her out."

"I was merely thinking how strange her attire was compared to yesterday's," Kurama said smoothly. He wasn't lying at all.

"Mmm hmm. I agree with you there. She ain't no goth, I tell you that."

Among the typical hubbub of normal campus life (from what Kurama had seen), Criss was altogether sticking out like the first rose bloom on a bush full of buds. Or like a black crow amidst spring grass.

Criss smirked. "Ready? Honors Writing is in the main lecture building, Washington Center. Most of our classes are there, I'd guess. I've met the teacher. She's nice. Yvonne Wilderness is her name. Just call her Yvonne, no formalities around here. Ms. Stephings is about the only exception I've met so far."

Kurama took a deep breath. He had to ask.

"Criss…I was wondering, have you had any martial arts training or anything like that?"

Suddenly, Criss's eyes turned hard, cold, and angry. She turned those eyes on him, and he noticed with a start that they'd turned a deep shade of midnight blue. They were far from her bluish green eyes he'd gotten used to seeing.

For a moment, there was silence. Kurama didn't know what to say to break it, and Criss only seemed to glare at him if he made any sort of move. JD cleared his throat after a couple of minutes, bringing both Criss and Kurama back to reality.

"So…where's this building at again?" he managed to squeak out. "I'm totally lost, man."

"Follow me," Criss said. Her voice was cold and edgy. She marched off toward a building near the chapel, leaving both JD and Kurama confused.

"Man, I've never seen a girl get so bent outta shape over a question," JD said softly. "It's like she has some big secret. What do you think, Shuichi?"

"I don't know."

_But I intend to find out._

JD looked at him a little funny, but didn't say anything. Criss led the way into an enormous lecture hall with tiered seats. The seats were a little strange, in that they had a desk that you could fold away. Kurama took a few minutes to get used to folding them in and out before looking around the room. There were five other people in it besides Criss, who had moved as far away from him as possible, JD, and himself.

When the clock's minute hand hit seven fifty-five, a very young woman with dark chocolate-colored skin walked in. She was wearing bright yellow sunglasses and a sundress to match. She set her things down on the computer table at the head of the class, unpacking several short stacks of paper. At eight o'clock on the dot, she turned and gave the class a brilliant smile with her bright yellow lipstick.

"Good morning and welcome to Honors Writing," she said. "I'm Yvonne, your instructor for the term. Now, there should only be eight of us…so I'll call roll right quick. Jo Applegate?"

A quirky girl who held an enormous bag in her lap and a white baseball cap on her head waved her hand.

"Jason Dogg?"

"JD, ma'am, and I'm in da house!"

"Er…all right, JD… Ingrid Krackers?"

A large girl raised her hand, then resumed gnawing on her fingernails. She continually looked all around the room before settling her eyes on her desk again.

"Shuichi Minamino? Ah, yes, our excellent foreign exchange student. Japan, right?"

"Yes." Kurama nodded.

"Okay…Criss Nallen? Oh, there you are, Criss, I didn't see you up there."

The last three on her list were boys, all of whom were quiet with brown hair, tanned skin, and conservative clothes. They were triplets, by the names of Jorge, Miguel, and James Sanchez.

Just like every other class Kurama had ever had before, Yvonne passed out a syllabus and went through it tediously. As if none of her students could read or comprehend a standard syllabus or any of its functions. At ten till, class ended. Kurama and JD packed their things up. Kurama didn't have class for another hour, but JD had his E. Bio class right after H. Writing.

The sound of someone clearing their throat met his ears not a minute after JD left.

"Hey, Shuichi, um…" It was Criss. "I just wanted…t-to apologize, for earlier. It's just…"

"I understand," Kurama said quietly. "I was only asking because I could feel you've had some sort of training."

Criss looked at him, a little more than shocked. "You can sense _my_ weak power? Jeez, and I thought you were just making fun of me."

"What?" Kurama stared at her. "Why would I do that?"

"Well…you've probably noticed I'm a little overweight." Her weight shifted from one foot to the other. "Well, I kind of thought you were making fun of me because of it… I'm sorry, I was jumping to conclusions. Again."

Kurama smiled. "I'd never do that, really. I was just wondering if you'd like to train with JD and me. I've got some…things I'd like to do, but I can't discuss them out in the open."

Criss's nose twitched. "Um, okay. We can meet on the roof, after everyone else has gone to bed. Sound good?"

"Great."

_Now all we have to do is find the little vixen._

Youko! Her name is Jun. She is a person.

_I know, but she's so feisty. Why can't we seduce her, Shuichi?_

It's wrong, for one.

_She flirted first._

I'm not going to get into this again.

…

…

…

Kirei Kiane: It's not Kurama so much as it is Shuichi…I think I've got it somewhere in my head that they're like two separate people living in the same body, not the same soul. I think that children in the womb already have souls, therefore Kurama had to merge with Shuichi in order to do it.

It's also that I believe that everyone has that "debating voice" in their head, the Yin and the Yang (NOT the devil and the angel). So I like Youko being the Yin and Shuichi being the Yang, and the two usually balance one another out. That is why Kurama usually appears so calm, because he literally has those two in his head. The demon and the human, living peacefully at once.

So, I've really got two characters in one person that are usually living as mutualists. But I also think that the morality that Youko has is still a little skewed. Shuichi isn't so much a "perfect son" than someone who's still trying to keep Youko's morals clean. He prevents Youko from performing acts that are impure, such as his experience with the "Gold Digger" in his past.

I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I'm portraying him through my own experiences and from what I've gleaned on the show. Youko's not a playboy, I know that. But still, even the best of men make mistakes. And Kurama's going to make a big one.

I like these bantering back-and-forth things, actually. It's a lot better use of my time than sitting on the computer in the lab with nothing to do but search for more fics to read. I usually only find one that I like, if I do at all. I find way too many Hiei-Kurama fics out there…

Why is it that just because Kurama is a pretty boy that they think he's gay? Just a thought.

ONE MORE THING!

Did ya'll notice that Criss is a little forgiving? Maybe too forgiving? Hmm…

Oh, and Criss does not suffer from short-term memory loss, it's something else.


	5. Splaining to Do

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH.

Chapter 5: Splaining to Do

Criss wasn't sure exactly what Shuichi Minamino was thinking. She'd never been so confused by a single person her entire life. Usually, she could sum up a person's personality in one word. That word had never been confusing, and now Shuichi had gone and taken it.

Well, actually, that had always been _her_ word. Until now. It was a little unnerving to think that she didn't know what was going on in his head. She may never have understood herself, but usually she understood other people just fine. This went against every common idea on people she'd ever obtained.

And for some dang reason, she liked it.

She dressed in her typical night outfit. Criss had never really worn anything that would be construed as "pajamas". She wore the tank top that she always wore under her clothes and a pair of baggy pants. If those pants happened to be the same she wore during the daytime, she didn't mind.

"Where you going so late?" Jun's tired voice poked out from the top bunk. "It's ten."

"I promised to meet Shuichi and JD on the roof. Wanna come, I think they said you could if you wanted to."

"You mean that hunk from downstairs? I'm there!" Jun took about ten minutes longer to get dressed and was about to start applying makeup when Criss stopped her.

"It's dark up there, cakes, they ain't gonna notice," Criss said. "Besides, you look like an angel without it. More so, in my opinion."

"Oh, all right," Jun rolled her eyes. "Let's go!"

Criss led the way to the end of the hall, where a rickety old fire escape ladder led them up onto the roof. Shuichi and JD were already there.

"Sorry I'm late, Shuichi, Jun was asleep when I told her," Criss said.

"It's all right, we were a little 'late' ourselves." Shuichi gave JD a pointed look.

Suddenly, Shuichi looked a little nervous. What was there to be scared of? He was among friends. Criss cocked her head to the side and waited to be informed. After a minute, Shuichi reached into his pocket and removed a small cell phone. Except when he opened it, it didn't look like a cell phone anymore.

Inside of the "phone" was a tiny screen and several small buttons that didn't look anything like a normal telephone pad. Shuichi soon explained what it was.

"This is my Spirit Communicator," he said. "I'm a detective from the god prince Koenma Junior. I've been sent here on a mission. That is, to find a new team of Spirit Detectives for the American Midwest. There has been some unknown activity near Jefferson College, therefore I enrolled here. You three are the strongest students on this campus."

There was silence. Criss stared at Shuichi, more than a little weirded out. This was the new foreign exchange student that she was supposed to know? Shuichi was suddenly a completely different person.

"I was wondering when you'd get around to introducing yourself formally, Shuichi," Jun said, a little knowing smile on her face. "Or should I say, Kurama?"

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" JD said. "Rewind, back up, and break it down."

"I'm with the J on this one, Shuichi," Criss shook her head. "We're supposed to be these all-powerful Spirit Detectives you need?" She turned to her roomie. "And what do you mean, 'Kurama'. Doesn't that mean 'car'?"

"No, it doesn't," Shuichi smiled. "That's 'kuruma'. Let me explain a little better. I am part of a team of Spirit Detectives in Japan. Our main leader, I suppose we'll call him, is Yusuke Urameshi. Our job is to keep the ningenkai—the human world—safe from spiritual entities that mean to harm humans. Usually, but not always, these entities are demons."

"Demons?" Criss's back went rigid as the name slipped from her tongue. "Like, fire and brimstone and hellfire demons?"

"Er…actually, that's usually caused by Lord Enma, Koenma's father…" Kurama laughed nervously at this.

Criss blinked. "Okay, everybody, grab a seat, gather round, Shuichi's got some 'splainin' to do."

…

…

…

Kurama told Criss, JD, and Jun a short run-down of how he met Yusuke Urameshi. He gave a short overview of some of the missions they had done. It was almost like a small chapel, how everybody listened in stunned silence.

"Sounds dreadful, when can we start?" Criss asked, a touch of sarcasm in her voice. "I don't know what this Urameshi person was thinking, but he must be real stupid to have ever agreed to this. How did this junior god or whoever he is convince him?"

Kurama hadn't informed them of Yusuke's extenuating circumstance in hopes of never having to say that they'd all been halfway blackmailed into this. Well, sort of. Hiei was the one who was completely blackmailed into it. Yusuke kind of had to and Kuwabara… After seeing Yukina Jaganshi, he doubted the idiot would ever look back on when he was completely unaware of demons.

"Yusuke had to, as a repayment of debt," he answered. "He is a very…unique person. He likes kids. One day, he saw a little boy playing with his soccer ball in the street. A car was speeding toward him. He jumped in front of the car to save the little boy, killing himself. It was really his first redeeming move."

Criss blinked at him again. "So the idiot kills himself, Ko-whatever decides to bring him back if he agrees to fight demons? And you're asking us to do it for nothing? Risk our lives and our family's lives? Count me out."

She spun out of the battered lawn chair and headed for the door.

Kurama sighed. "I had hoped that a C-level human would be able to help me. It appears she has misplaced her judgment."

"What was that?" Criss spun around. "I've got priorities, Shuichi. I've got people to protect that you can't even begin to imagine. Good night!"

She slammed the door. Kurama winced at the sound and turned back to Jun and JD.

"What's that s'pposed to mean?" JD scratched his head. "That chick has some issues, dude. I don't know what they is, but she's got 'em bad."

"Once again, your vernacular speech has escaped me," Kurama said.

Jun laughed. "He's saying that there's something wrong with her, Kurama."

"I gathered that much. What about you two? Are you willing?"

"Sweetie, I'm no angel," Jun said. "If you ever need my help, I'm willing. But I'm not going to stick with your little gang."

JD shook his head. "Yo, man, I'm wit' you all the way. But you gotta admit, man, this is some freaky stuff."

"I concur," Kurama laughed. "Had I been unaware of any of this, I would have been, as you say, 'freaked'."

"You mean you wasn't?"

Kurama sighed again. "That story will take more time to tell than we have, my friend. To make a long story short, I am a fox demon reborn in a human's body. I am over a thousand years old and if any demons knew whom I was or where I am currently… I have a rather unsavory record with most of my previous kind."

"As do I, from my mother," Jun said. Kurama had almost forgotten that she was still there. "I was a lowly E demon when you died, Kurama. Maybe you'll remember me? My mother introduced us, once."

Kurama merely blinked. JD jumped up out of his seat.

"Am I suddenly _surrounded _by demons or somethin'!"

"It would seem so," Kurama said. "I'm afraid I don't, Jun, enlighten me."

"That's a shame, Kurama-kun," Jun said. "They got really friendly, the old Youko and my mother. In Philadelphia, remember?"

_.I've got a bad feeling about this one, Shuichi._

..That goes double for me..

_.She can't be...can she.?_

…

…

…

I think that Kuronue's death affected Youko in more ways than the movie suggested. I realize that Youko is a very complicated person, and that he isn't as sex-oriented as some might think. I'm sorry if my story comes off feeling that way. It's just that Youko seems only to speak up when his motives sway from Shuichi's.

I'm afraid I never read the manga, so any information contained there that isn't in the anime has not reached me. My views reflect into my stories, and sometimes my portrayal of certain characters is altered by my views on what they motives are. Youko's motives and Shuichi's motives _usually_ are the same. But I believe that on some points, they diverge. Shuichi knows Youko's past with the Gold Digger and doesn't want Youko to make the same mistake, in his body, no less. That's why this conflict is occurring. Jun is _not_ the Gold Digger, but she is extremely close in looks and appeal.

For whatever reason (there is one, I just can't say it yet), Jun is extremely attractive to Youko's fox side. He wants to know more about her, he is curious, fox-like, in how she functions. Someone this "beautiful" must have something more. Youko's curiosity, though it is not plainly stated, is with more than her sexuality. It's just that that is the outlet that he uses to figure her out. She is a puzzle. Youkos, in my experience, love puzzles. Criss is one, too, but the outlet through which Youko is trying to figure her out is different than Jun's.

Hey, Kirei Kiane, maybe you'd like to discuss characters a little more in depth in a chat room? Email me, and we can set up a date! I love your insights, they're so intuitive. And I think you'd probably like to chat live, rather than writing essays… I must admit, though, I do like them.

Sillylittlenothing: You'll love how Criss's memory problem comes into play. I just know you will. It's not that I don't like yaoi, it's just that the way a lot of people portray them in other fics is just…wrong. Hiei is way too affectionate and Kurama is just…girlish. Kurama's not girlish! He's not a girl! He's just a fox spirit! Fox spirits are beautiful!

Has anyone ever seen the arctic fox up close before? They're GORGEOUS. I got to pet one once at the zoo. They are just so precious and their fur is sooooooooooooooooooo soft and pretty. We have red-tailed foxes here in Kansas, wild ones, and there's this one who thinks that my backyard is his playground. He comes back there with his kills and stares at my pet chickens. I'm kinda glad I padlocked the coop…


	6. Promises

Disclaimer: I dun own it. Please stop trying to make me feel bad!

Chapter 6: A Promise

Criss paced the red carpet under which was the plywood that led into Shuichi and JD's room. How could she possibly have said that to him? He just told her, not half an hour ago, that he was protecting his mother from the start. His friends. His allies. Why did she say she _wouldn't_ protect them with his help?

"That would mean telling them," she whispered to herself. Criss rubbed her arms, despite the sweltering heat of the August night. "I can't tell them. I can't tell anyone."

So why did she suddenly feel like she _had _to tell Shuichi and JD everything? Not Jun, though. Not Jun. She didn't trust Jun. Jun had a dark aura about her. It whispered to her, haunted her. Told her not to go near Jun.

But she slept five feet underneath her. How could she not go near Jun? And she'd _promised _Shuichi she'd give Jun a month. No matter what, Criss kept her promises. If there was anything she prided herself on, it was that she kept her promises. No matter what got in the way.

She closed her eyes tight. More memories. Bad memories. Why did she have to always remember the bad and forget the good? It was like a curse on her head. Her head started spinning against the pacing. She sank onto the red couch.

"Why am I so stupid?" She cried.

A shuddering gasp ripped from her throat. Slowly, Criss sank onto her bed and pretended to sleep when Jun came in. She waited until Jun was fast asleep, then crept back up to the roof. No one was there. She could end it all now.

But she couldn't. She'd hurt him. Again.

She'd hurt more people than she'd help.

That was the only thing. It was the only thing that kept her from diving off of this roof and forgetting about everything.

"I see you're back again."

Shuichi was back. Criss could hear his deep, soothing breaths. She could sense his power, even though he'd smashed it substantially since she'd first met him. She turned away from the waning moon to face him. His hair swished across his face in the light wind, coming from the southeast.

"The winds have changed again," she said softly. "Not good."

"I'm sorry if I upset you," Shuichi said, standing just behind her. So close, she could feel his breath tickling her ear. Or was that the wind? "You left before I could tell you that I'm not human, either."

"No need. I heard. I stuck around behind the door, Mr. Kurama Youko. I'm the one who should be sorry."

"Why is that?"

She sighed. "I've got things in my life that I can't explain. I can't tell anyone. And when I want to tell someone, I get really mad at myself… And I take it out on someone else."

"Why can't you tell someone?" Kurama asked.

"I made a promise. I always keep my promises."

Kurama leaned against the railing at her side, staring up into the stars. "When I was still Youko, my partner Kuronue and I promised each other that we would do everything in our power to stop the other's capture or death if it came to that. We were professional thieves, the two of us.

"About twenty years ago, we decided to rob a high security sector of Spirit World. We got out of the building all right. The guards came after us, throwing knives and spears. Both of us could dodge those pretty easily. However, one of the knives managed to slice off Kuronue's pendant.

"He went back for it. I told him not to, but that pendant was precious to him. He didn't move fast enough. The guards caught and killed him in front of my eyes. In his dying breath, he told me to escape. I had to break my promise that day because I didn't have the power to stop him or the guards."

Criss was silent as Kurama stopped his story. The moon shimmered down on both of them and the stars sort of whispered in the sky. Even the crickets seemed to have stopped singing.

"Thank you," she whispered. "If I tell you, will you promise not to tell Jun? I…I don't trust her."

"I promise. And that's one I'll keep," Kurama said.

Slowly, she began her story…

"My dad was always a little off. He was a professor here on campus. He taught the sciences and secrets of the psychic arts. Most people, except his students, thought it was just a big joke. I often came here after school and trained with the other students. I was strong enough to defeat even the boys. People who'd been training for years and years and a little four-year-old could beat them up.

"I grew up without friends. I was always teased because of who my dad was. I never stopped my training, though. I was thirteen when we moved to Virginia. Norfolk, to be exact. We packed up in a hurry and I barely got to say good-bye to the other students I'd beaten just the week before. They were the closest things I had to friends up till that point in my life.

"I always wondered why. Three years of wondering why we moved away so fast. I found out when I was sixteen. Dad had been training me still up till this point, but I was stronger than him by now. I came in through the front door one day after school. An eight-foot-tall monster with glowing green eyes was devouring my father's legs. He wasn't dead, not yet. I fired my most powerful punch at the monster. He vanished.

"My father told me that he wouldn't live. I put a tourniquet on his legs anyway, refusing to believe it. As I did so, he told me everything. He told me how these creatures were after him and now, they'd be after me. He told me to come back to Jefferson and face it head-on, to show the same courage I'd shown that day.

"He made me promise to never tell a human soul about myself. No humans could find out that I wasn't exactly like them. That I was psychic. I was strong. He made me promise to never reveal my energy or my identity to the enemy."

For a moment, Kurama didn't say anything. Criss bit her lip, a tear at the very corner. She hadn't told anyone for two years and now, she'd broken her first promise.

"You know," Kurama said. "He told you not to tell any _human_ souls. Am I correct?"

Criss blinked for a moment. "And you're not entirely human… So that means I haven't broken my promise after all."

"Jun informed JD and myself that she, too, wasn't entirely human," Kurama said suddenly. "However, she has yet to reveal her identity. She says that she and I met in Philadelphia when I was still Youko." He paused a moment. "This monster you saw, what did it look like?"

"Like I said, glowing green eyes. It had a spike of white hair, but other than that, it was like a black reptilian style of skin. He bore a large scar over his left eye. Other than a black pair of slacks with white stripes, he was entirely inhuman."

"An E level, then," Kurama murmured. "Stupid creatures, really. They only take orders, nothing else. The reason I was sent here is because there exists a sword that can turn anything into one of these low class demons. Anything with event remnants of life, like a bit of wood. It is similar to the one that Hiei stole from the vault, except this one will only change something if the wielder is forced into it."

"Forced? You mean, like, someone takes his hand and shoves it down or something?"

"Yes. It's a strange limitation. The monster that you fought was much weaker than you, I take?"

"Duh."

Kurama smiled. "I would be willing to bet that you were at least a D level by that time.

Which means you would have easily beaten an E level creature spawned by that sword."

"What's this letter level thing you're talking about?"

"It's the ranking of demonic power from the Spirit World. Prior to a catastrophe approximately three or four years ago, it was widely unknown. Now it is a demon's household system. If you're curious, you are a lower C level at this time. JD has a little more power than you, but not by much. I am an upper B class."

"You're sure movin' on up, then," Criss smirked. She turned around to walk back inside, but stopped short. "Oh, by the way. Thanks. For listening to my story."

She walked down the rickety fire escape stairs.

_Should we ask potty pants who her father was?_

Yes.

Kurama waited patiently for the "cell phone" to connect. He noticed that it was midnight already. Koenma picked up almost instantly.

"How did things go?"

"I talked to all three of them. JD is ready for training. Jun said she'll be ready if we ever need her. I think she's going to be another Hiei on this one. Criss, on the other hand, is a little shaky. I need all the background you can give me on her and her father. Send it via regular mail."

"I'm glad we have one dependable person," Koenma sighed. "Yusuke and the others are here. They waited up for you."

Kurama smiled, seeing Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Yukina, Keiko, and Botan wave at him over the little screen on his phone. It felt strange, but he was already admitting to himself that he missed them. Yusuke had somehow managed to get himself into the video game business, co-managing two shops with Kuwabara. Keiko had an upstanding job as a local restaurant entrepreneur and was attending Tokyo University for a degree in law.

And Hiei had _yet_ to inform Yukina that he was related to her.

"Hey, Kurama," said Yusuke. "We're all dead relaxed over here. All Kuwabara and I got to do is wait for these new systems to come in. We're going to hire another hand for the south shop."

Botan pushed him out of the way. "That can wait! Kurama, guess what? We are going to come visit you this weekend! I'll open a portal near Wichita and we'll take a bus out to Jefferson. Sound good to you?"

"Of course," Kurama smiled. "Hiei, you are coming, right?"

Hiei's mouth twitched upward followed by a grunt. Kurama took that as a yes. It would be difficult to get a straight answer from him, anyway.

"Well, we know it's late," Keiko said. "We'll see you on Saturday!"

The screen cut out. Kurama walked down the two flights of stairs and fell into his bed, not bothering to get undressed.

…

…

…

Criss's connections are getting more and more strange. I think I like this story too much…but now that it is complete, I can sit back and smile at myself. I finished another story after working on a sequel to another. So, now I can go and start work on a NEW story, which I will be calling "Roadside" until further notice.

Anyone imagine Kurama riding a horse?

Hey, Kirei! Where is everyone? Did the suddenly abandon me in favor of Wolf's Last Cry?


	7. Others

Disclaimer: I dun own YYH. Please do not sue, as I am only writing this to test-drive my own character, Criss.

Chapter 7: Others

Jun sat right beside Kurama the next morning in Intro to Mathematics. JD and Criss had the class, too, but they had it in the afternoon. Kurama was already thinking how lucky they were to choose it at three in the afternoon, rather than nine in the morning.

"Morning, handsome," Jun said. Whether deliberately or on accident, her ankles brushed his. "I'm sorry about last night. I train alone. But I am willing to help in any way possible." Her thick, luscious lips pouted a little as she said this. The deep, rich red she'd chosen highlighted every delicate curve. Her creamy coffee skin smelled of fresh cut flowers and her hair of vanilla beans.

Her leg touched his again.

"I-It's all right," Kurama said.

_Are you getting weak, Shuichi? She's spicy, sassy, and sexy. Can we please seduce her before she does us herself?_

I said no. Jun won't do that, Youko. She is a human being.

_Says the man who is barely a man._

Shuichi didn't have anything to say to this, mostly because a frazzle-haired professor entered the room. He had a shock of white hair, eyes so small they seemed closed under his bushy white brows, and wore a French beret tilted to one side. It didn't seem to help his hair become tame at all, which seemed to him to be the purpose of the hat.

"Goot morning, class. Get out a piece of paper and take notes over lecture," he said with a very, very heavy German accent. Kurama obeyed, his hand brushing against Jun's as he reached for his bag next to hers.

_You're flirting, Shuichi!_

I am not. Our hands touched.

_That's considered flirting. You poor, poor little human…_

We are _not_ going to seduce her, Youko. That is final. What would mother say if we did such a thing?

Shuichi knew he'd hit the right spot. Youko was grateful to Shiori, their mother, for everything she'd done for him. This included teaching him a thing or two about affection. The lessons were still a little bit undernourished, however, as Youko was still trying to sway the youth whose body he shared.

Math class seemed to drag. Kurama found himself counting the number of students in the room (32), all of whom had a dazed, glazed, and utterly bored look upon their face. Even Jun, who had been paying quite rapt attention at first, was starting to drift to sleep. It wasn't until Kurama started looking around that he noticed that he was in what looked roughly the same type of classroom as the English class. When the fifty minutes had finally come to an end, the professor had homework. Kurama wrote it down immediately in his notebook before heading out.

His next class was Drawing I, and Jun and Criss both were in the class. The tables were set up in fours, but their fourth partner took one look at them and walked out. They found out the day after that she dropped the class.

The teacher was going through the more normal (as opposed to the math teacher) day one procedure of syllabus, read it over, and introductions. Kurama was barely paying any attention at all, which was incredibly out of character for him. He was surprising even himself. Youko found it quite amusing.

As classes continued and everyone started to sink into the routine of daily life on campus, Jun began to act more and more strange. In the halls, if no one was around, she'd a chaste kiss on his cheek. Just enough that he felt it. For some reason, however, she always gave him a meaningful look. The kind of look that said "we need to talk". Kurama wasn't certain exactly what to make of this. Jun's actions were almost opposite of themselves, as she seemed to openly flirt with him in the classroom.

And especially in their dorm rooms.

"Just ask her to stop," JD said to him when she left after one such episode. He'd told him about the kisses. "It's sexual harassment. I dunno what is up with that kinda stuff in your country, but around here, it's considered punishable by law."

Kurama nodded. The next time Jun approached him, he held up his hand.

"No, Jun."

She pouted up at him. The look was still there, though. "Sure, baby, whatever you say."

But the kisses continued, even though he continually asked her not to. Youko, the one who always seemed to know everything, was baffled. The way Jun acted in the classroom and in the dorms was sensual and open. When they were alone in the halls, she was almost _pleading _with him to do something. Kurama knew this something was not sex, however she might veil it to seem that way.

The weekend was upon them at last. Kurama told Criss, Jun, and JD that his friends were coming to visit. He said in a whisper that they were coming via portal, but out loud he said that they had found really good round-trip tickets for a group of their size. He found out from Criss, who seemed a little down, that there were guest houses for such occasions, which cost five dollars a bed a night.

Criss had almost seemed out of it for the first few days. Saturday morning, after she knocked on the plywood, she poked her head in through. Kurama had noticed that Jun was never in the room when she used the large hole.

"We need to take them somewhere nice," she said without preamble. "It's America, for crying out loud. How many of them have ever seen this place before? And I'm _sure_ those buddies of yours are big eaters. I think you're about the only exception to the male-eating rule I've ever come across."

"What do you suggest?" Kurama asked.

"I've been thinking… There's a great little shop near here, called League of Its Own. It serves all kinds of food with blendings of all kinds of cultures. Cheap, too. Most expensive thing on the menu's five bucks."

"For this crowd, those two combinations sound wonderful," Kurama said. "I'll find JD, you find Jun. We'll go together, all of us." A look crossed her face, but it vanished before Kurama could try to decipher it.

"Sure thing. I'll meet you down there. If they left at five in the morning, they ought to be here at three, about. I'm going to see if I can borrow one of the school vans. How many are coming again?"

"Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Yukina, Botan, and Keiko. Six from there. And us four, makes ten."

"Then we should have enough room between my car and JD's. Nix the van. He's got a Malibu, which can seat bigger people…"

"Okay. You get Hiei, Botan, Keiko, and me, then," Kurama said. "I'm sure JD can handle Yusuke and Kuwabara."

And, at three in the afternoon, six people piled off a bus in the Jefferson parking lot. Kurama introduced them each individually.

"Yusuke Urameshi, our unofficial team leader back in Japan."

"Oi."

"Why'd he say that?" JD asked.

Criss laughed. "It's Japanese, JD. It means 'hey'."

"Oh. Well, 'oi' back to you, too."

Yusuke glanced at Kurama, who merely continued on to Kuwabara.

"Kuwabara Kazuma, watash—"

Yusuke fired something at him in rapid Japanese, which Criss didn't quite catch. The two started arguing off in the background. Kurama chuckled softly and simply continued on again. Criss got the feeling that this was a normal occurrence and left it at that.

"This is Keiko, Botan, and Yukina," he said, pointing at each of the girls.

"Hi!" Botan cried in an overly-happy voice. She continued on in rapid Japanese.

"Even _I_ can't translate that," Kurama said at the looks JD, Jun, and Criss were giving him. "Botan…" She giggled and nodded, but remained silent thereafter.

"And this is Hiei," Kurama said, gesturing to the small boy. "He's very famous for being one of the few people ever to conquer the Dragon of the Darkness Flame at the Dark Tournament."

Kurama then ordered everyone, in Japanese, into the little blue Geo Prizm of Criss's and JD's bright red Malibu. Hiei nearly started to jump through the trees instead, but Kurama stopped him with a hand on the shoulder.

"There are no more trees after about a mile from here and where we're going is a lot farther than a mile, Hiei," Kurama explained in Japanese. "This area was originally all grassland. These trees were planted. People watch them all the time."

Hiei grunted and glared at the hunk of metal in which he would have to ride.

Unfortunately, he had to squeeze in between Keiko and Botan in the child's seat, as he was the smallest and could easily fit there. Kurama sat up front next to Criss, who started the car up and led the way out of the parking lot.

"I can see a lot better during the day, so it's okay for us to talk, Kurama," Criss said. "I heard a lot about you, Mr. Hiei. Can you tell me more about this Dragon I keep hearing about? I like dragons."

"He can't understand you," Kurama said, trying not to laugh. "He barely learned Japanese when he escaped the demon world. The only thing he understood is his name."

"Oh…" Criss nodded. Then, she began to speak very slow, very concise Japanese. "I am sorry for my ignorance, Mr. Hiei. I did not know you did not speak English. I speak little Japanese."

Both Botan and Keiko exchanged a glance, then looked at Hiei. He was watching the ningen in the driver's seat very closely. A little too closely.

"I was wondering about the Dragon Shuichi told me about," she said, still speaking slow Japanese. "He said you used it to win the Dark Tournament four years ago." In her head, she made a mental note to remember to _ask_ Shuichi was the Dark Tournament _was_.

Hiei grunted. "Yes. Why are you so interested in it, human?"

"I am part wolf, on my father's side," Criss continued slowly. Kurama's head jerked at this information. "My great-great-grandfather used a spirit beast similar to your Dragon for war. He helped many Native American tribes live longer in their native homes, before Europeans forced them out."

"Why didn't you tell me that?" Kurama asked in English.

Criss smiled sadly. "I forgot about it until now. Hiei looks a lot like my dad when he dyed his hair black. It must have triggered the memory."

Kurama had all but forgotten Criss's little memory problem. He wondered just how much of her own life she actually did remember.

Suddenly, Hiei's voice filled the tiny car. "Was his name Justin Nallen?"

"Y-yes, that was his name."

"I knew him, then. He was a bandit in the Makai."

Criss smiled. For some reason, Kurama smiled with her. It seemed like it was for real, this one. She was genuinely happy to have some connection to her father, even as remote as this one. Kurama glanced back out the window. JD's Malibu was two seconds behind them exactly. Not a moment later, Criss took an exit.

All around, there was nothing but fields and cows and a single large building. A huge sign read A League of Its Own. Criss pulled into a parking spot and JD's Malibu soon followed. When Criss was out of the car, JD ran over to her and jumped into her arms like a small child might.

"Um…JD, what are you doing?"

"Next time, you drive them!" he cried. "They're nuts and I can't even understand a word they're saying!"

Kurama and Criss laughed as the poor boy slowly let himself down. He apologized sheepishly to Criss. She smirked and led the way inside, with both an English and a Japanese "come on in".

…

…

…

sillylittlenothing: I'm not going to hit you… You're one of my favorite reviewers, why would I do that? No, this story won't be ending for a while. But I've already got it drafted and written down someplace else. Believe me, I have few brain cells right now, too. I totally forgot my speech, which means I have to ace my final and my persuasive speech in order to B the class…

SugarhighKitsune: I will keep that in mind, I was trying to build the story up from a mellow start to a lot of little twists. I hope it appeals to you as much as my mind enjoying concocting it.

I really liked this chapter even though its only purpose was to introduce Jun's strange behavior (important) and the introduction of the other characters and the fact that Criss is part wolf. Not like super-powerful wolf, like, maybe a sixteenth? Maybe?

Oh, and the League of Its Own. I liked the title of the restaurant. Dunno why. (shrugs) See ya'll soon!


	8. Jimmy

Note: If you've never read the full version of _Treasure Island_, please read the following:

Most shortened versions of _TI_ don't mention the black spot given to Billy Bones, the guy that gets Jim involved in the whole pirate treasure thing. Basically, pirates gave the black spot to fellow pirates who betrayed the crew. Whoever had the black spot was killed within forty-eight hours.

Disclaimer: I don't own Treasure Island or Yu Yu Hakusho.

Chapter 8: James Hawkins, aka Jimmy

The minute they entered the building, a waitress was there with two menus on hand. The mousy-looking waitress seemed petrified by the sight of ten people in the restaurant. She called to someone named Joe from the back and they pushed together the three largest tables so that the ten patrons could sit together.

For some reason, the table ended up looking like this: Criss, Botan, Kurama, Jun, and JD seated exactly across from Hiei, Yukina, Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Keiko. Criss glanced up and down the table, uncertain of what to do. As far as she knew, only she and Kurama knew the languages of all those present and Kurama was the only one to speak them completely fluently. That is, until Botan spoke in perfect English, quite similar to Kurama's.

"Well, this is awkward," she said. The blue-haired girl glanced at the menu, which had a picture of each dish on the front. "I guess everyone can just point…"

"That's what I like about A League of Its Own," Criss said. "They picture everything." She spoke again in slow Japanese. "What would you like? I will pay."

"Hey, she can talk!" said Kuwabara.

Criss glared at him. "I know seven languages. Eight, if you include sign language." She said the last two words in English, not knowing what they would mean in Japanese.

Kurama translated them for her. Kuwabara sort of gulped.

"At least you're smarter than Urameshi," he muttered.

"What did you do to JD?" Criss pointed at the other boy.

It was Yukina that answered, in perfect Japanese. "Yusuke-san was muttering in Japanese about him, knowing full well he couldn't understand. He was saying that he looked smart and sassy, but his tone might have suggested otherwise."

"You did that for ten full minutes?" Criss glanced at Yusuke. She switched to English for the last part. "Jeez, and I thought he was the stupid one." She gestured off-handedly to Kuwabara. "Next time, JD, just mutter back. Is that what you were so freaked by?"

"That and Kuwabara poking me in the back," JD admitted. "I said they're crazy, didn't I?"

Criss rolled her eyes.

It took a short while to get everyone's orders. I mean, with ten people, several of which did not speak the same language, why wouldn't it? Kurama spoke mostly with Yusuke and Kuwabara (Hiei didn't speak at all) while they waited for their orders. Criss didn't talk much, only listening to their conversation. She was very interested in the video game business that Yusuke and Kuwabara had partnered.

JD and Botan were talking about sports, of all things. Jun and Keiko were attempting to discuss clothes, but they never really got very far. Unlike Kurama and Botan, Keiko didn't have much of a vocabulary when it came to English. It wasn't a subject she excelled at.

"Excuse me," said the waitress when she arrived with three of the plates. Joe was carrying three more. "One of the gentlemen that was here for the normal lunch hour said that there would be a group of ten to come in at or around three o'clock. I'm guessing he meant you guys."

"That would explain the shock," Criss said, smiling slightly. "But how did he know we were coming?"

"I don't know. We've never seen him before. Shady character, dressed in a black cloak with the hood up. He came in here and told us that, told me to give to a girl with a name like a boy this folded up piece of paper. He said he'd kill me if I looked at it."

The poor waitress looked very pained at this. Criss blinked at her. "I suppose that would be me. My name's Criss. Why would anyone want to kill a perfect stranger for looking at a piece of paper?"

"I don't know, ma'am." The waitress gave her the paper as the others sat quiet, staring at it. Even those who couldn't understand what was happening in English knew that this wasn't a good thing. The waitress and Joe backed away once they'd served everyone at the table.

Slowly, Criss unfolded the piece of paper. Inside of it was another, smaller piece of ripped paper. This had an enormous black dot on it. A flash of memories struck Criss's brain, of all the stories that had had a black dot in its context. None of them had ever been good to the one who received the black dot. _The Lottery _and _Treasure Island _were the ones to leap clearest in her mind. Slowly, her hands trembling, she moved the dot away to read the letter itself.

It was written in clear print, the type that most children were taught in school. However, this person, whoever it was, clearly knew what they were talking about.

_I wondered once what would it have been like if Jim Hawkins were a girl. How would she feel over the loss of her father, and then of another person so suddenly in her life? Women are so much weaker in the heart than men, you see. I see no Billy Bones here, young Criss, but that is because he is dead as a door._

_Your father started something with me a long time ago. A little game, we should say. I would hide the treasure. He would find it. Then he would hide it and I would find it. A very simple game, but you see, the treasure was always something different. I found out that my fellow treasure-hunter had been murdered, you see._

_That black spot you hold in your hand is for his murderer. Find who it is, give it to them, and I will personally see to it that your father is avenged. Perhaps, one day, we can return to the carefree days of treasure-hunting. You did it once with your father. I know you do not remember it, little Criss. Your memories are so staggered and isolated by the forces that murdered him. _

_So that also means you don't remember me.  
_

_Maybe you will if I tell you my name_

_It's Jimmy. James Hawkins._

_And by the way. Those new friends of yours? Two are going to help you. One helped murder your father. The rest will come back later, when you've given away the spot. _

There was nothing else. Criss looked up at the others, perplexed. Kurama, JD, and Jun. One of them helped murder her father. Only one knew anything about him. The others waited patiently for her to say something. Anything.

"An old family friend," Criss said. "He wants to help me find the person who murdered my father." Kurama stared at her.

"Do you know who it is?"

"Only that I called him Jimmy. He was a treasure-hunter, with my father. That's all I really know. My memories of him are gone."

"Then how do you know you can trust him?" Jun said.

"I recognize the writing," Criss answered quietly. "I remember someone who took the time to read me the entire, unedited _Treasure Island_. If those aren't reasons to trust him, I don't know anyone I can trust."

Slowly, the others turned back to their meals. Talk began to rise again. But Kurama did not participate. He merely ate quietly, eating his Japanese-French fusion dish. He watched Criss pick at her food, eat it slowly. When they left, her food was barely touched, and the letter with the black spot was securely in her front pocket. She didn't speak as they drove back to the college.

In one of the guest rooms (belonging to Keiko, Botan, and Yukina), the girls suggested a game that sent chills up and down Kurama's spine.

Spin the Bottle.

Instead of traditional spin-and-kiss, Botan procured a store bought spinner than said things like "sing a love song" and "nibble ear". They still used a normal bottle to determine who with and a rule was instantly declared by Yusuke (translated seconds later by a blushing Keiko) that if you landed on someone of the same sex, you spun again.

"Count me out," Criss said, diving for the safety of the door. Hiei was right on her tail.

"Oh, no you don't." Jun grabbed her arm and Yusuke grabbed Hiei. Neither person was very happy as they sat in a circle on the floor.

"Yusuke first!" Botan announced. No one objected. The poor boy spun the bottle on the floor, which landed on Hiei first. He quickly spun again and got Botan. Everyone held their breath as he spun the store bought disk. It landed on "ten second massage".

The game continued on quite like this for several minutes before it became Jun's turn after JD kissed her hand. It landed on Kurama.

Everyone held their breath as the ticker went around. "Spin Again." Breathing started again, then held.

"Kiss for 30 Seconds".

Instantly, Kurama's face was redder than his hair. Kuwabara asked for a translation of the "funny-looking words". Criss told him, to which he happily started watching. Jun sidled up to Kurama and someone grabbed a clock. There was no need.

No one seemed to be able to stop watching. Jun toyed with his lips like they were made of sugar. Criss was the only one to turn away as they continued. Kurama didn't seem to give in too much, even though Jun was on him like nothing else. In the back of his mind, Youko was screaming for more.

But Kurama wasn't.

She tasted dangerous, like poison.

But for some reason, he liked it. It was like money. You wanted things, a whole lot of things, but you didn't have enough. Now, he had enough. He wanted it all, but he couldn't take it all. Not in front of everyone else.

Not like this.

"Uh…you guys, you can stop any time you want," JD said, breaking through. Jun stopped, and drew back with a wink. He tried not to smile or do anything that could incriminate him.

Kurama spun the bottle on the floor.

Criss.

He glanced up at the poor, blushing girl. She'd already been traumatized once tonight, why did he have to be the one to do it again? But no one would stop staring at him. He sighed and spun the other bottle.

Kurama gulped hard.

"French kiss".

Criss blushed harder.

Why did Botan have to bring this contraption? At least with normal spin the bottle, you only had to give a chaste kiss. No one spoke as Kurama approached the girl.

She shut her eyes tight. Kurama sighed and placed his trembling lips on hers. Unlike Jun, so unlike Jun, she tasted of strawberries and sugar. He gently licked her lips, asking for entrance. Her lips parted.

Criss wasn't sure exactly what was happening. Her eyes were tightly shut, and she couldn't see anything. Shuichi's lips were gentle and fiery hot at the same time. Inflamed already by the kiss that Jun had given him. It made her sad to know that Shuichi had to kiss her now. Why couldn't it have been a simple one, like "sing a love song"?

Then, she felt something in her mouth. It felt interesting, not bad, not really good, either. She'd never been kissed before, and now… That was completely changed. She pressed her mouth against his. Her tongue entangled with his. He tasted different, like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Like honey and apples and something else. She withdrew back as he drew back himself.

No one spoke for a minute. She reached for the bottle on the floor and spun it. She was the last person in the room aside from…

Hiei.

"Sing a love song". She sighed in relief. Somehow, Hiei seemed to as well. She wasn't the best singer, but she wasn't the worst, either. Feeling her heart begin to beat again after the French with Shuichi, she searched her mind for a love song.

_It's a damn cold night_

_Trying to figure out this life_

_Won't you take me by the hand_

_Take me somewhere new_

_I don't know who you are_

_But I'm_

_I'm with you_

It was now nine o'clock. They ordered pizza, ate in silence. No one could really figure out the repercussions of what had happened. Botan gave the spinner to Criss for safekeeping, which she stuck in her pocket next to the black spot. Criss and Jun went to bed at ten o'clock. JD followed them with a "sayonara".

The three were silent on their trek up the stairs. Criss watched Jun leave them a little faster. Probably was going to write in her journal. She stopped on JD's floor and stopped him short.

"JD…" she said quietly.

"This is about your dad, isn't it." It wasn't a question.

Her nose twitched lightly. "Yes, it is."

"Don't have to say nothing," he said. "I already know. You remember when you were about nine, you and your dad came up to New York for the weekend? My master and I were the ones your dad gave a run-down of his training program to."

Criss plopped on the ground, her knees unable to hold her. "W-What?"

"I came here, cause I felt I needed to thank him. I figured he'd come back after all the mess died down at Jefferson. When I figured out he wasn't here, I called up Virginia State to find out where he went from there. They told me what they knew and I put two and two together. I'm still in the dark on some of it, but I know most of it."

"So you know how everyone thought I was the one who'd sliced off his legs, then," Criss said, glaring at the wall. "It wasn't until the autopsy that they proved otherwise. They still ain't got a clue. They think I'm crazy."

"You couldn't have known," JD pointed out. "Your dad, he was the best thing that ever happened to my master and me. My master is now a major private detective for the east coast."

Criss smirked. "You learn something new every day. You were that kid who wouldn't stop telling me I was 'purdy', aren't you?"

JD chuckled. "I'd forgotten that little detail. It still holds true now, Criss. You're still very 'purdy'."

"No, I'm not," she said. She didn't say it modestly or as a joke. She said it as if it were a fact, just something she knew. JD was taken aback, like she'd slapped him. "I'll see you in the morning, Jason. Sleep tight."

She turned around, got back on the stairs, and went up without another word.

When Kurama arrived, JD told him all that had happened. Neither boy could seem to come up with an explanation. While JD was drifting off to sleep, however, Shuichi was having a little chat with Youko.

_That girl can kiss._

Which one?

_Jun, you idiot! Criss didn't even know what was happening.  
_

I think that really _was_ Criss's first kiss, Youko. And after Jun's little display, I think we hurt her by being so chaste.

_You might be right. _

I think I _am_ right. Which means we've got a problem.

_That would be?_

We hurt the more powerful of the two girls, Youko. With a little more training…

_Can we just forget the stupid morals for one minute! Let's throw them both down on a bed and take them together! Maybe even get JD into it…_

You do know I didn't hear that, right? Why do you always joke about this kind of thing, Youko? It isn't very amusing.

_And we'll find the squeakiest bed possible, really small—_

La la la, I'm not listening!

The return on Youko's jokes about sex…sigh I hope the italics and bolds actually worked this time. Gah.

BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR PINK PICKNEYS IN THE FUTURE! And an appearance by the Demon World. I can't remember when that starts, though…

Kirei: Well, I'm setting up all of the characters (except Kurama) to have a different motive than what they first appear to have. Either intentionally or unintentionally, they have a different face than what they really are. I don't have any other way to describe it for now… Just stay tuned!

Sillylittlenothing: Yes, JD has a crush on Criss. The "purdy" comment doesn't come up again, but it's something cute that I remembered from the first guy who was crushing on me. (Why he was, I will never know…). JD's character is interesting. He acts a lot like Kuwabara at times, but he's incredibly intelligent. Isha weird combo, ne?


	9. Jun's Mission

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, but I do own the illness that currently keeps me from writing well at the moment…

Chapter 9: Jun's Mission

Monday morning, Kurama and JD skipped breakfast to say good-bye to Kurama's friends. Criss was nowhere to be found, as Jun had yelled at them when they knocked on the door to their dorm. Kurama and JD went to English class early to see if they could find her there. No one was there.

Yvonne walked in a couple minutes before class was to begin. Still no sign of Criss. And then, like a roadrunner, she slid into class in the first available seat as far away from them as possible. They'd been studying into mythological lore and its uses in literature over the past week. The assignment had been to find a cultural myth and a piece of literature that would include it.

Criss was holding a stuffed raven in her hands, obviously from the locker box in the science building. Kurama found it amusing that she obviously felt no qualms holding a dead "critter" in her arms. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the birds in the locker box died of natural causes?

Yvonne began class with a few housekeeping things, and then asked for who would like to present their findings first. Criss's hand was the first in the air, the one without the dead stuffed raven.

She stood up in front of the class with the raven. "One of my favorite poems growing up was Edgar Allen Poe's _The Raven_. He used one of Europe's many common myths to come up with his ideas. Birds, especially the intelligent raven, were thought to carry souls to heaven.

"In Norse mythology, one man asked a raven to ask the main god, whose name escapes me, if his wife had made it. Since the man in the poem was mourning for his Lenore, I believe that the raven actually mercy-killed him so that it could bring him to his lover. I asked the science department if I could borrow this raven because I think even the dead ravens can give answers."

She set the dead raven on the table behind the computer station and escaped to her seat. As the others continued to give their presentations, Kurama couldn't help but think back on what Criss had said. Was she trying to figure out something? He gave his own presentation on the Kushinada legend.

Class released a little early on account of the shorter-than-expected presentations.

Kurama headed back to his dorm room in search of one of his textbooks. However, Jun met him at the door with not a word, but a deep kiss. Kurama tried to push her away. This was wrong, this wasn't the way he wanted _this_ body to lose his virginity. He broke away her kiss.

"Don't fight," she murmured. "We're being watched."

He blinked in surprise as she pressed herself all the more firmly against him, pulling him into his dorm room. JD, he knew, wouldn't be back for a long time. As soon as the door was closed, and locked, Jun broke away herself.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "But I've got to save you."

"What?"

"J-Just listen to me, okay!" Jun threw herself onto his lower bunk bed and started tossing his sheets around. "We don't have much time. This is totally not me, okay? It's all an act. Everything. If my mother knew what I was doing, I'd be dead right now myself. I've been sabotaging the devices since the start of term."

"What are you talking about, Jun?"

"This!" Jun ripped a tiny black object from the inside of his mail shoot. "It's a tracking device, okay? It attaches itself to whatever's closest and…Damn!"

"What is it?"

"I can't say any more. Kiss me."

"What?"

"Kiss me!" She launched an assault on his mouth, hard and rough. After a few seconds, she broke away again. "Don't mention this to anyone. Got me?" She mussed her own hair, then pretended to be fixing it as she walked out of the room.

Kurama nodded quietly.

Er…I dunno what to say about this chapter, really…Did anyone expect this at all? Jun is trying to protect the college from her mother. Who is her mother, though? And what does she have to do with Kurama? I'm going to upload the next chapter, this one was way too short.

Sillylittlenothing: Well, I don't think Jun would break Kurama's heart, really…she's actually a very nice person…But ulterior motives seem to have surfaced, ne? I'm so evil. I know for sure that Criss _will_ eventually end up with Kurama…but it's going to be a really bumpy ride to that…Eventually is the keyword here.

LaBOBuren: Is your name like the song by the Beach Boys? I like it, regardless. And thank you for the comments. I luv arctic foxes and if Bush keeps pushing for oil mining in Alaska, we're going to lose these precious, adorable little critters. -- I do not like Bush. He is killing all the cool critters. Actually, the parallels between Criss and me are kinda the same…but I would never lie to myself about nothing. That's the key difference between us.


	10. A New Side

Chapter 10: A New Side

Criss remained at a distance from everyone else. No one knew exactly where she went between classes and after classes, but she always returned late at night. Jun asked her multiple times where she went. However, all she did was smile sadly and shake her head.

Jun refused to speak on the day she had pushed Kurama forcefully into his dorm room, and did nothing to explain her actions that day. In fact, her chaste kisses in the hall and him denying her had become almost a routine.

About a week after Kurama's friends left, he and JD began training when all their classes were over. Usually, this was at three o'clock. They'd come back for dinner and then return to training. Kurama showed JD several martial arts moves that he had learned in all his long years. It wasn't until about three weeks into their physical training that they began spiritual endurance training.

It's a widely known fact that you cannot make your spirit any stronger than it already is while you are in your body. However, it _is_ possible to stretch your body to allow for more of your spiritual energy to come in contact with your physical strength. Kurama had yet to show JD any of his more specific spiritual moves.

As autumn began to fall away, the four sank into the usual rut of college life. Criss had become withdrawn and quiet. She still vanished for hours on end, although she always showed up when they were studying together for mutual classes. Jun had finally given up asking her where she went. Kurama sometimes went to the roof in hopes that she would be there, unable to fall asleep again.

But she never was.

As they finished the last few classes before fall break in October, she was vanishing less and less. However, she was also getting back to the dorms later and later, and they could tell she wasn't getting even near her normal four or five hours of sleep. The dark circles under her eyes were enough evidence of that. Kurama waited outside of Criss's last class of the last day to confront her.

Students streamed out of the classroom, most jabbering on how hard the Intro to Bio test had been. Criss didn't come out. Kurama poked his head into the room and saw that she was still in her seat. She beckoned him into the room. Even the professor had already left the room.

"Shut the door," she said. "This room is soundproof."

Kurama obeyed, a little uneasy by her tone. It was soft, calm, quiet. Nothing at all like her normal voice, the one she used when she spoke to other people. Not really loud, but just a notch above normal conversational tones. Enough that normal humans could tell the difference, anyway. It made her seem full of confidence.

Now, all she seemed was lost and afraid.

"Criss, what's wrong?" Kurama asked. "You've been so distant since that night." He didn't have to mention which one, because she nodded to show she knew it was so. "We don't know where you are half the time. It's not our business, but we would like to know. We're your friends and we care about you."

_Never thought we'd say that, eh, Youko?_

Not since Kuronue.

Shuichi didn't answer.

"I've been training," Criss said, standing up from the little fold-up seat. "I needed to do some on my own. I haven't trained physically in two years. I've barely moved in two years."

That's when Kurama noticed it. It had happened so gradually that no one had seemed to notice. Criss's former pudge had vanished. The little stomach she'd had was gone. Her face was still rounded, but more heart-shaped now than anything. The other chin she'd sported at the start of the year was gone. A small grin spread across her face, revealing the gap between her two front teeth.

"I know I've deceived you all, but I didn't want any help with this. I never gave you a straight answer to your question."

Kurama nodded, uncertain.

"I will join your team of Spirit Detectives. If you'll still have me, that is."

He smiled. "Of course. You can come and train with JD and I over fall break. We're going to Japan. Botan's picking us up."

Criss stared at him. Slowly, as she spoke, she descended the steps toward him.

"J-Japan? You're not just pulling my leg? Seriously? We're going to Japan?" The hopeful tone in her voice was enough to make him laugh, but he didn't. He just gave a little nod and smiled again.

She jumped off the last step and hugged him as tight as she could. "Thank you!"

Criss let go almost a nanosecond later. "Sorry."

"That's what friends are for," he said. "You had better go pack for the week. We're leaving in three hours."

Completely serious now, she nodded and walked away with her book bag. However, just as the door was shutting, he heard her squeal in absolute delight. A smile touched his lips as he strolled back toward the dorms himself. He still needed to help JD pack.

…

Three hours later, they met on the roof of the dorms, where Botan could open a portal and not be seen by any onlookers below. Kurama and Criss had made sure that they couldn't see JD jumping atop the center five feet square. The two climbed the stairs again to await the bouncy Grim Reaper.

"I still can't believe that happy-go-lucky chick is the Grim Reaper, the _head_ Grim Reaper at that," Criss said as they waited. "She's just so…so…"

"Happy-go-lucky?" JD put in dryly. "We've noticed."

"Believe me, she isn't always," Kurama said. "Botan is an _interesting_ person, to say the least."

When said person popped out of a sudden black hole seated on an oar, Criss definitely could find no way to argue with that point. Botan ushered them quickly through the hole and out into a small office. Even if Botan was a carefree person, she did know when to be serious and when to not be careless. There is a difference, if ever so slight, between a carefree person and a careless person.

The minute they were through, however, she broke out in a broad grin and welcome the trio with broken English and Japanese.

"Welcome, minnachan! Koenma-sama, daijoubu?"

JD may not have understood Japanese, but he knew that something was wrong when Botan leaned over the desk in search of something. That something turned out to be Koemna, the tiny toddler-like god prince. Since Criss and he had already spoken once with Koenma over the screen-telephone, they weren't quite as shocked as some people might have been by his appearance.

"Tell the little dude what up for me," JD said, grinning ear to ear. "For the son of an all-powerful, fire and brimstone style god, he ain't too threatenin'."

Kurama was about to repeat (word-for-word, I might add) what JD had said, but Criss leapt forward with a slower but kinder translation. "JD-san wishes to greet the lord Koemna-sama. I humbly repeat."

Koemna was quite pleased to discover someone aside from the bumbling blue ogre and the too-happy blue-haired Grim Reaper that gave him the respect he "deserved". And when it was two someones at once, it was all the better. Well, he didn't know that JD hadn't been all that respectful, but he didn't understand English despite his father's wishes.

So, he obviously was very pompous as he spoke, a tinge of pride in his voice.

"I would like to welcome you to Japan, Nallen Criss. You and your associate will be staying with Genkai during your training."

"Koemna-sama, domo arigatou gozaimasu." Criss bowed, though she was a little upset that Koemna had messed up her name. It sounded like "Naruna Kurisu" from the small god's mouth.

"What'd they say?" JD pleaded with Kurama. Kurama relayed everything that had been said since they'd arrived, to which JD sobered immediately. "Who's Genkai, anyway?"

"A good friend of mine," Kurama answered, still in English. "She is Yusuke's mentor. I will comment that she is a bit rough around the edges, but her training is unlike any other before her. Few have ever rivaled her prior to the Dark Tournament four years ago."

"What's this Dark Tournament?"

"That will take the better part of an evening to explain," Kurama answered, in his calm, smooth voice that attempted to make the concept no big deal. However, Criss knew him better than that now.

"We don't have to start training until tomorrow," she said. "You can tell JD and me about it when we get to your friend's house."

"She doesn't live in a house. She lives in a temple."

Criss's eyes sparkled slightly and a goofy-happy smile spread across her face. "I've always wanted to see a real temple."

Kurama hoped that was the end of her questions about the Dark Tournament. Although it had been years since then, it still left lasting scars on his heart. He'd had to try and explain to his mother about several faint scars on his physical body as well when he returned home. He couldn't exactly tell her that a demon had used spirit bombs to torture him to inches from death.

Botan led the way out of the building and let the three of them down in a secluded alley in northern Tokyo. It would take a ten-minute walk to get near Genkai's temple, but it was the closest they could get without attracting unwanted attention. Kurama explained in low tones.

"There are demons all over Tokyo that are under strict surveillance. Should they detect our energy signatures near a sight like Genkai's temple suddenly, like when we come out of a Spirit World portal, it would be dangerous for us. They are D class or lower usually, but even a B class like me has problems with mobs of them."

"Watch it, Shuichi," Criss grinned. "JD and I are gonna catch up on ya real fast."

"It's not that simple to leap an entire class and then some, Criss," Kurama warned her. "I'm in the upper B class. You've barely gotten into the lower end of the C class. JD is only a few notches above you."

Criss merely smirked. "We'll see."

The minute they walked out of the alleyway, however, Criss was reduced to silence. She couldn't stop looking in every direction possible, drinking in the sights and sounds of the calmer area of Tokyo. Vertical signs, some kanji she recognized and others brand new, peppered the wide sidewalk. There were several cyclists in the road and a few very small cars. The roads weren't nearly as wide as normal U.S. city roads, but they served their purpose well.

That same look as when Kurama mentioned Genkai's temple was on her face. Goofy-happy, but it was more pronounced. Even people who didn't know her smiled at her little innocent curiosity. It was a whole new side of Criss that Kurama had never seen before. She was so happy just to _be_ here. After living here his entire life, it was strange to know that others could be so fascinated by the place.

"Exactly how did you come to be interested in Japan, Criss?"

"Anime," was her simple answer. "I can't help it, I love it. Manga. Video games. Japan's ahead so far in creativity that the Americans might as well stop trying."

"I beg to differ on one point, milady," he said, quite the gentleman.

"What's that?"

"The written word."

Criss had no arguments for him.

…

…

…

Would anyone else have argued with him? I dunno, I think that English has its strengths and Japanese does, too. They rival each other in greatness. So, what'd ya'll think? And why doesn't Jun come with them? I didn't mention it at all, but she has some…unfinished business to attend to.


	11. Dragon and Cat

Chapter 11: Dragon and Cat

Criss gaped open-mouthed at Genkai's temple, at a lost for words. She couldn't believe she would be _living _here for a week. It was like a dream come true. Every sloped roof, every hall, every rice paper door, it was a splendid place. When Criss was introduced formally to the pink-gray haired Genkai, she bowed with deepest respect. JD practically threw himself at the old lady's feet when she stared at him. Genkai laughed uproariously and Kurama tried to suppress a chuckle.

Genkai spoke in a raspy, sarcastic voice. "And this is the genius you found, Kurama?"

"What'd she say?" JD whined.

"Nothing at all," Criss said. "She's just…welcoming you." She spoke in Japanese to the woman. "Do not worry about him. Kurama and I will keep him in line."

Genkai laughed. "You must be Criss. At least Kurama found someone with a brain or two in their head. I believe you will be the second female on this little team. I hope you're up for the challenge. We start training at dawn. Kurama, you know where the guest rooms are."

"Sensei, hai," Kurama nodded. "Come on, guys."

"Don't forget. You promised you'd tell us about this Dark Tournament thing," Criss warned him. "I'll personally send electricity running through your spine if you do forget."

Kurama wasn't quite sure what she meant, but nodded all the same. He led the two college students through Genkai's many-chambered house, into a long stretch of hall that split off into five sliding rice paper doors. All of them were ornately painted with cherry or plum blossoms.

"We don't have much room, so we'll have to share one," Kurama explained delicately. "I hope that's all right with you, Criss."

She shrugged. She'd been in worse situations than sharing a bedroom with two men, both of whom she trusted.

The interior of the far left hand room was small, but there were three futons on the floor and a place for them to set their things down at the head of each one. And there was a bathroom _inside_ the room, which made things a little simpler. Kurama decided that Criss would change in the bathroom and they would change in the room and tell her when they were through.

Criss followed the plan quite effectively. JD and Kurama were ready for bed when she asked, so they made up their beds and laid down. Criss had chosen the futon between the two boys. She turned to Kurama as soon as she was comfortable.

"Okay. Spill. What is the Dark Tournament?"

"It is a tournament for demons," Kurama answered. "We were guest competitors, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Genkai, and myself, four years ago. It is a no-holds-bound battle for the top place. If you die, your death is not mourned but celebrated. We five are lucky to have escaped with our lives. Genkai actually didn't but as we won the tournament, we were able to win her back."

"Win her back?" JD inquired.

"Yes. The winners get to make a wish each. That was our greatest common wish. That, and to never have to compete in the tournament again."

Criss scowled and spoke sarcastically. "Sounds like fun. Glad you guys made it through okay. What made you enter in the first place?"

Kurama smiled. "That would be one of the former winners of the tournament, Toguro the Younger. He felt he needed to find the person who could match his power. Yusuke turned out to be that person. It's a little more complicated, but I don't want to go into the details."

"What about you?" Criss asked

"Hmm?"

"Every time you mention the tournament, your eyes get really lost, like you're remembering something horrid. We've all got a dirty past somewhere, Shuichi. What's yours?"

"Nothing to be so concerned about," Kurama chuckled cynically. "A man named Karasu decided I had a pretty face and wanted to kill me because of it. He put a new meaning of the word masochist."

Criss nodded. "I'd say so. Well, g'night, boys. I'm exhausted."

With that pronouncement, she curled up beneath the thick blankets, hugging the pillow. Like a small puppy on a giant pillow, she fell asleep in minutes. They could hear her slow, even breaths. Kurama and JD shrugged and followed her more slowly into dreamland.

…

The next morning, when the sun had barely even begun to peek out over the horizon, Kurama shook his fellows awake. Criss jumped immediately to her feet, grabbing some clothes from her bag and entering the bathroom. Kurama shook his head, shocked at how quickly she'd managed to wake up. JD, on the other hand, took quite a bit of coaxing to get him up. By the time Criss had come out of the bathroom, rubbing her wet hair with a fluffy towel, he still hadn't budged.

"Go ahead and get your shower, Shuichi," Criss said. She still hadn't gotten used to Kurama as his name. "I'll get JD up."

When Kurama came back out of the shower, his red locks still damp, JD soared past him into the shower. Kurama wasn't quite sure what Criss had done to the boy, but for the next few weeks or so, JD had no problem at all getting out of bed.

"We only have a week to train with Genkai," Kurama said, leading them toward the kitchen. The wonderful smell of pancakes wafted toward them. "She's going to show us ways to maximize our energy output. Criss, do you mind helping me translate for JD?"

"No problem," she shrugged.

Genkai, however, seemed more inclined on giving them one technique a day for them to practice. She left most of the actual training to Kurama, which she explained to him in low voices. Despite the fact that she did this, Criss still picked up most of what she was telling Kurama. Once breakfast was over, Criss and JD followed Kurama out onto what seemed to be an ancient battlefield. Criss could sense restless spirits all over the place, even within some of the muddy quicksand.

"I believe that this was one of the places that Yusuke went while he was attempting to become Genkai's apprentice four years ago," Kurama said. "The presence of ghosts here maximizes the connection between spiritual and physical entities."

Kurama then began to show them some of the ninjitsu kata he'd been told of by Genkai. To the elder woman, the two human psychics would be best trained in some of the more traditional human powers that were best known to them. He showed them a cycle of monkey, dragon, fox, cat, wolf, and tiger movements, which enhanced the spirit and relaxed their muscles. It was sort of like a warm-up for the spirit.

JD was in fact a very quick learner when it came to this sort of thing. He continued through the cycle seamlessly, his feet planted firmly. Criss, however, was having more trouble with the dragon and the cat movements.

"Dang it…Dad never mentioned any stupid hand thingies…" Criss muttered, her shoulders slumped. So much for "catching up" with Kurama. Although Criss had studied much under her father, she still had a lot to learn.

"Hey, Kurama, I'm going back to that training hall we saw earlier and see if I can do it without these spirits around," JD said. "You keep working with Criss."

Criss sighed and sank onto the grass. "I'm never going to get this right. Maybe I should just stick to drawing comic books."

Kurama scowled and grabbed her by the elbow, yanking her roughly to her feet. "Hey! Shuichi, that hurts!"

"That is _not_ the attitude I expect from you at all," he said. "Your father was a great man. He knew that you had something special inside, and he knew that you would need it some day. If you are to avenge him, you _must_ continue your training."

"But what does making my hands look like a dragon and a cat have to do with anything?"

Kurama scowled. "Do the dragon, alone."

She moved her hands together as she would if she were doing the dragon kata. He punched toward her, but the dragon's hand blocked it almost effortlessly.

"The cat," he said.

She moved her hands again. This time, she prevented him from striking her and allowed him to leave himself vulnerable to attack.

Criss just sort of stood there, paralyzed as she held her hands to block his. Something just clicked in her mind as he backed away again.

"Move through the kata."

She obeyed him, simple as that. Monkey, dragon, fox, cat—

"Freeze." She did.

Kurama moved around behind her and took her right leg in his hands. He moved them apart, facing both of her feet forward as he did. Then, he reached around to her arms and fixed several of her fingers so that they mimicked the perfect cat movement.

"Try it again," Kurama said. His breath tickled her ear, but she did as she was told. His voice frightened her. It was…intimidating.

_Monkey, dragon, fox, cat, wolf, tiger, monkey, dragon, fox, cat, wolf, tiger, monkey dragon fox wolf tiger, monkey.dragon.fox.wolf.tiger, monkeydragonfoxwolftiger._

"You see. You can do it." Kurama backed away from her, dropping his arms to his side.

"I-It's so simple…natural, even," Criss said, turning to look at Kurama. A smile lit her features, something that he hadn't seen for many months. Maybe never had seen from her at all. "Thanks, Kurama."

He smiled back. "Come on, let's go see what JD is up to. Maybe a spar is in order now."

…

…

…

Okay. Sorry to anyone who was looking forward to "Genkai Torture Hour". I decided against it, mostly because this _is_ only one week. Plus, Criss and JD need some of those ancient hand movements for later.

Everqueen: I'm glad to hear that you like my characters. Seeming how they're both being "test driven" for an original novel, it's nice to know they already are prepared to enter into the world that I created for them. I know how irritating most OCs are…It's only cause people don't take the time to create their own characters. I did. JD and Criss both have "character bibles", which tell their stories right down (mostly) to how many times they fell off their bikes as kids. Jun was kinda just thrown in there…she has her purpose, though. She just doesn't have the pleasure of being expanded on much more than I have.

Sillylittlenothing: Sorry to disappoint…;; Oh, yeah, Criss has been training like mad. She's cocky only cause she's used to winning battles. If you remember…she's never been beaten before. All on her own, yeah. Japan is _way _ahead of us, unfortunately for my little brother…;;

LaBOBuren: FRUBA! My anime club watched over half the series. One of the girls was buying every DVD as it came out. But I didn't get over half of it cause we watched it all in Japanese with subtitles and I couldn't read it…VV. I like Yuki. I don't get the girl, though. Why'd she sleep in a tent? I'm in college, majoring in Secondary Education, English. An ickle freshie, that's me.


	12. Don't Stop Singing Baby

O.O I'm shocked ya'll haven't killed me yet, with how long I left ya'll hangin' with this one. Eheh…lol, okay, this has been written for several months now, it's just that I haven't had the time to read over it. XD Previously, I actually had all the songs written out, but that just took too long. So I changed it up a bit.

Sheesh, I changed a lot in this story since I started writing it again. I should have changed the song to Papa Roach's Scars, but I decided against it because the timid words from the one I used before just fit so well.

At any rate, I'm sure ya'll ain't here to hear me yammer. On with chapter twelve of Silver Treasures!

Chapter 12: Don't Stop Singing, Baby

Disclaimer: Don't own YYH or Avril Lavigne's song, or any other song mentioned.

The week moved by so quickly, Criss wasn't sure if she'd even seen the sun rise and fall. Kurama and Genkai woke them up at five in the morning and kept them going at it until ten at night. Criss was getting bored with it all. When was the real training going to start?

Or was Kurama just going to baby them?

It was the last evening they were there that Botan, Keiko, and Yusuke came over to see them.

Kurama seemed almost to sink away from JD and Criss as he spoke in the tongue he'd used for his most recent eighteen years. Botan and Keiko were laughing and Criss could barely keep up with what they were saying. Something about Kuwabara being an idiot and a bunch of pigeons. It made little sense.

"What are they saying?"

"Not sure," Criss sighed. "My vocabulary is very limited and most of the words are still a little foreign. Something about pigeons and Kuwabara and dancing…"

"Maybe it's better that we don't understand," JD said.

"Perhaps. We've learned a lot since we got here, ya know? Hard to believe it's only been a week…Kata and styles and ways to draw out our spirit power better…"

Only she really didn't think she'd learned much of anything, to tell the truth. Only silly kata styles that Kurama looked like he'd never used before. They didn't seem very useful. Criss had many other ways of blocking attacks than a simple arm movement, some quite a bit more elaborate than those.

"Yeah. Um…listen, Criss…"

She turned to look at him. "Yes?"

"When I met you in New York, I couldn't stop looking at you," he said. He was very quiet and he wouldn't look Criss in the eye. "I kept saying to myself, there goes the most beautiful girl in the world. Purdy, because she didn't flaunt it. It was totally natural, like you didn't even know it.

"You're still the same beautiful girl now, all grown up. But… I like you, Criss. I want to be your friend. But sometimes… sometimes you just distance yourself so far away from me, from all of us, that I wonder where the beauty went."

Criss smiled sadly. "My dad used to tell me that. I never believed him."

"But you _are_, Criss."

In her mind, Criss was crying. _I only wish I could believe you._

Kurama broke into their conversation with an announcement of his own. "The others want us to come out to the Box with them."

"Sounds fun," Criss said quickly. "What is it?"

Kurama laughed, but didn't answer right away. Keiko and Botan took either of Criss's arms and led her away from JD, Kurama, and Yusuke. Neither girl spoke until they were in a completely different part of the house, in what appeared to be another guest room. Botan and Keiko were smiling in that evil, mischievous way that Criss was sure she'd seen somewhere before.

"What's this Box that Kurama was talking about?" Criss asked. The leers that Botan and Keiko were giving her almost made her keep quiet.

"It is karaoke," Keiko said at last. "A special place for singing."

"Um…okay," Criss blinked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"We need to get you dressed," Botan said, the smile growing wider.

Suddenly, it dawned on her. "You're not getting me into a skirt."

Botan pouted. Keiko looked confused for a minute. Botan whispered in her ear and the pout returned two-fold.

"No. Uh-uh. No way. Iie. No. I'm not wearing a skirt. I'm not going to go if you make me wear a skirt. I can't sing anyway, so why make me go?"

"You said you wanted to," Keiko said, not once losing the pouty-kitty look.

"That was before I found out about the skirt. I stand firm on the skirt issue. No skirts."

Keiko and Botan finally sighed. "Then can we at least pick what you're going to wear?"

Criss relented.

Somehow, they managed to get the poor girl into one of Keiko's very intricately-detailed flare blue jeans with butterflies on them. A plain, deep sea-green shirt with a blue butterfly was what they shoved her head into. Criss managed to get them to let her wear a choke collar with spikes on it in exchange for letting them put a limited amount of make-up on her face.

When at last they released her from the room that had turned to Criss's own worst hell, they met the boys at the door. Kurama was nowhere in sight. JD was just as clueless as Criss was.

"Where is he?" Criss asked in her still-slow Japanese.

Yusuke answered, but Criss was unfamiliar with the word. Botan translated.

"Hiding. You have to find him."

Criss sighed. Well, if he _was_ a fox demon, he must have good hearing, right?

"KURAMA!" Criss shouted at the top of her lungs. "KURAMA, DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME ALONE WITH THESE PATHOLOGICAL CASES THAT YOU CALL FRIENDS!"

I'm sure no one within a fifty-mile radius didn't hear her.

But, it did do its job, so I guess that doesn't matter.

"I'm sure they'd appreciate that if they knew what the word 'pathological' meant." Kurama had appeared from nowhere, it seemed, his hand on Criss's shaking shoulder.

"Well, they said you were hiding from me…"

"Not from you, per say," he said. "From them. Whenever we go out to the Box, they always attempt to 'dress' me for the occasion. Quite like a paper doll. I see that Keiko and Botan managed to get their, eh-hm, claws into you."

"Yeah, thanks for the warning," Criss said, sarcasm dripping from her like honey. "These are Keiko's. I didn't think I'd ever get into a twelve again."

"Those are twelves? I thought they were eighteens." Kurama joked.

"Watch it, buster, it took me three months to lose that weight."

"What will you do if I don't 'watch it'?"

Criss smirked. "Rip your balls off."

"Point well taken."

"I thought so."

"Well, now that we're all here, shall we go?" Kurama said, first in English, then repeated in Japanese.

It was the first time since their arrival that they'd been outside of the temple, and Criss forgot all about being forced into the girly outfit. Tokyo in the early night was too captivating to recall meaningless things like clothes. The people, the sounds, the smells, she couldn't take it all in fast enough.

As suddenly as they'd started walking down the streets, it seemed to Criss, they arrived at a large blue building that used cheesy neon lights to spell "Box". She hadn't really thought that it was really the English word. Keiko pulled her in through the rotating doors, into a slightly dusty but nonetheless cheerful lobby. There was a desk and then two halls on either side.

"Room sixteen, Kumo," shouted a pale-faced college student in rough Japanese. Several bills passed between Keiko and the student and a short brunette led the way to a door marked "16".

"We come to the Box so often that they automatically give us this room now," Kurama explained to JD and Criss. "Kumo and Charlene run the Box on weeknights."

"They've been here that long?"

"Well, Kumo has. Charlene is an American transfer at Tokyo University. She's been working since her first semester, last year."

Room sixteen was a very simple room, about twelve foot square on all sides with two rows of plain wooden benches facing a raised platform. On the platform was a raised column, holding a computer-like screen. A large, currently blank, screen was across the entire back wall.

"I warn you, I can't sing," Criss said.

"It doesn't matter, so long as you enjoy yourself," Kurama smiled. "Most of us can't sing, either. You should be glad Kuwabara's not here. He has a most raucous voice, and he loves to sing."

"I think I'll thank my lucky ears, then," Criss said, dryly. "What is it about that guy? He's so simple…"

"He is," Kurama said. "But he has a big heart."

A corner of Criss's mouth twitched at this.

"So, who wants to go first?" JD asked. Kurama translated for him. Almost immediately, Yusuke grabbed Keiko's arm and dragged her onto the stage. Criss sat down between Kurama and JD and watched as the two sang a sweet duet in Japanese. She couldn't keep up with most of the words, though "aishiteru" was definitely among them.

In that little room, they sat and listened to song after song, both English and Japanese. Even JD was singing with Botan, a song that Criss recognized by JJ and Lil Romeo or something to that extent. She'd never remembered music very well. Kurama got up and sang something call "Pink Rose" which, aside from its title, was in Japanese and hard to follow anyway.

Criss smiled in her little corner of the room. Everyone was laughing, clapping, whistling, and cheering as JD bowed to the little audience after singing an Usher song.

"Baka!" Yusuke shouted. He said Criss's name, though she didn't recognize anything after that. Kurama must have seen the clueless look on her face, because he launched into a translation soon after.

"He said that you haven't had a turn yet."

"Th-That's all right, I don't—"

"It's tradition. Everyone has to have a turn."

Her hands twisted around each other. "N-No…I…"

Kurama reached down and grabbed one of her hands, pulling her in two easy steps up onto the tiny platform. He handed her a microphone and returned to the little audience. Criss glanced down at the little screen, unsure, unwilling, and a more than a little upset that she was going to have to sing.

After a few minutes of looking through the Japanese songs and not recognizing them, she went through the English ones and finally found a familiar face among the unknowns. With a gulp, she pressed the "play" button and waited for the music to begin.

It began with a sound like a light gong in the distance, followed by a deep guitar and drums. In a quiet voice, Criss began to sing.

_Well, I couldn't tell you_

_Why she felt that way_

_She felt it_

_Every day_

She could hear the sound of her own voice in the microphone, so soft, it was barely audible. The others merely smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Kurama nodded, a smile touching his lips.

_I couldn't help her_

_I just watched her make_

_The same mistakes _

_Again_

Her confidence started to swell up within, like some creature eating away at the frightened little girl inside. She smiled back at Kurama and sang a little louder.

_What's wrong, what's wrong _

_Now_

_Too many, too many _

_Problems_

_Dunno where she belongs_

_Where she belongs_

The room erupted into cheers and whistles, clapping and shouting as she finished. She grinned shyly, suddenly caught in her own world. Criss wasn't exactly sure what to do as she stepped off of the platform and dove back to her little corner of relative safety. When everyone had gotten a chance to sing, Criss was the last out. The others filed out of the room, into the darkness outside. Criss smiled into the soft wind that whipped her longer hair away from her face and eyes. The honey-colored mass was a complete tangle, but Criss didn't mind.

"We'll leave tomorrow morning to go back to the college," Kurama said. JD was talking to Botan about ten yards in front of Kurama and Criss, and Keiko and Yusuke had been lost somewhere on their way out of room sixteen.

"It's been a week already. I can't believe it." Criss sighed and stared up at the part moon.

She pondered the events to the evening. Why had they all been so…weird? She tried to remember back when they'd first met at the start of the semester. Something about their relationship had changed…

Kurama broke her from her thoughts. "Criss…?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you suppose Jun didn't want to join our group?" Although Kurama was sure that he had some sense of what the other girl was planning, he wanted to know what Criss thought. After all, the girls lived in the same room.

Criss pressed her lips together, forming a thin, white line. "She doesn't care about other people. She only cares what she can get from them. If I've learned anything about her during the time she's been my roommate, it's that."

There was silence.

"Shuichi."

"Hai?"

"You…You like Jun, don't you." It wasn't a question. "I saw your dorm that day after she pushed you in. You like her, don't you, Shuichi."

Her tone was entirely unaccusing. She stated this entire thing in a simple, matter-of-fact tone that Kurama wished she'd just yelled. She was so quiet. Like a little puppy, lost and hungry and afraid.

"We did not _do_ anything, if that's what you're implying. I'm not sure how I feel about her." It was the truth. A truth that Kurama was surprised that he could voice. Since when had he been so willing to reveal things to people, even his friends?

"I'm not asking you to explain. I knew you would, eventually, after that night. All men do. Even my father did it once, after my mother passed away. That's not what I'm asking, though."

Kurama waited patiently, though he was a little upset that she'd been so general, and had, in fact, continued to accuse him despite her tone.

"I asked if you _like_ her, Kurama."

"…No. At least, nothing beyond that of a simple friend."

"Then why did you do let her kiss you?"

Kurama sighed, an uncomfortable, itching feeling in the back of his throat. He tried to speak, to say something. Anything. Even Youko seemed to shift uncomfortably in his mind. Criss waited patiently for two beats before jumping back from everything she'd said.

"It's all right. You don't have to answer. I just remembered something, though."

He swallowed hard, expecting something far worse than the answer he got. "What?"

"I remember who Jimmy is."

…

Jun sat on the cold, stony floor. Rocks dug into her thighs. She ignored them and ignored the strand of black hair that had swept annoyingly into her eyes. Her mother, the Gold Digger, Sparkle, was before her. She dared not move. If she was caught in her actions, she would be terminated. Immediately, without question.

Sparkle's Battalian was based, ironically, within a prairie dog city that had been collapsed and rebuilt into a system of larger dirt caves. Prairie dogs were famous for their underground cities, and this one had reached the top of the mother material of the soil itself, the stone beneath.

Although far below ground, Jun could still see by the tiny shafts of light that the critter diggers had left. Her mother looked much like she did, only older, more mature. Sparkle had dark hair, braided down her back and pooling at her feet. Jun was humbled to be before her, as she was every time. Humbled, and absolutely terrified. Her eyes darted to the sword at Sparkle's side. It was a simple katana, with the traditional pommel and length. Its hilt and sheath were a dark purple color.

Jun was more than just frightened of her mother. She was frightened by the power the sword at her side held. The Ume-Ken. Her throat contracted. She had been forced to create the monster that eventually killed Criss's father. It was entirely her fault that Criss was the way she was. Sparkle's voice terrified her from these thoughts.

"The energy you've been gathering is too little, Princess," her mother said. "Why is this?" Jun bit back a groan at her real name.

"My mother, the humans of Jefferson are far too weak to take substantial amounts of their Spirit energy without consuming them," Jun answered. She'd planned this answer a thousand times over. She hoped her mother accepted it. "It would look suspicious if they were to vanish, or turn into wraiths. I am gathering as much as I can without killing them. We need them alive to continue the harvest."

Her mother inclined her head ever so slightly. "All right, Princess. I am a patient woman. I shall wait. Damn this Spring Break. Even a week will throw our people off."

"I know, my mother," Jun said, feeling her face burn up at her real name. She hated that name. "I will make up for it next week by draining more than usual."

"Excellent. You are dismissed."

Jun rose and began to leave.

"Oh, and Princess?"

Jun froze.

"Don't screw up."

Jun nodded and walked slowly out of the room. If _only _she could have talked to Kurama more! He would understand, if only she could talk to him for longer. Nobody on that team trusted her because of her previous actions. Why did she have to behave like a little tramp, rather than the intelligent, well-brought-up girl that her father had raised?

Oh, yes.

Because Sparkle had murdered her father, too. Just as Jun had been forced to help murder Criss's. Jun sighed as she left her mother's hearing range. If only she could find a way to stop these plans.

Without taking the lives of her friends.

…

…

…

I realize that Kurama is acting entirely out of character with regards to training Criss and the others, and I did it for a reason. Kurama realizes after Genkai decides not to help teach them that a single week would be wasted effort with Criss and JD, so he babies them. And he also realizes that Criss is a seasoned warrior, whereas JD has never or rarely seen a kill. (We find out later that he's never seen a kill.)

Oh, yeah, and now we see that Jun isn't quite the little bitch we thought she was. () Bleh. Nicely done, if I do say so myself.

At any rate, please review. I shall have the next chapter up as soon as possible, m'kay? Sorry for the wait.


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